Befriending the Criminal
by FropessionalWriter
Summary: AU. Jay and Lloyd are tasked to help reform one of Ninjago City's well known figures and former fugitives. Who is this figure? Cole Brookstone, previously friends with the infamous Kai and his sister Nya. As conflicts arise, Jay finds himself facing his own self-problems. Slow burn bruiseshipping.
1. Life Hacks

**8 months ago**

Sirens wailed in the distance, causing Kai to jump away from the door and sprint further into the store, eyes searching for his sister and Cole. Another door nearby opened and his two partners in crime came out, the teenage boy holding a gun in hand and his sister with a bag of loot over her shoulder. Kai could see the salesman shivering in fear on the other side of the counter.

Kai hustled them out of the store, moving swiftly. "Guys, cops are on their way. _We have to move_!"

The three of them went out the back and saw the van all the way on the other end of the alley way.

Nya shot a death glare to her brother and hissed through tight teeth. "Why would you park the van all the way there, _Kai_?"

"I panicked to search for a good place to park, okay! It's hard to get out of this tight of an -"

"Kai, shut up." The spiky haired teen rolled his eyes at his comrade and took some of the bags off Nya's hands. He watched as Cole raised his gun to the end of the alley with the cops already huddled close with their guns raised. Before any of them could move, a man dressed much more fancier than the other cops stepped forward and clasped his hands behind his back, a smug grin well on his face.

"The Smith siblings… not much of a surprise if I must say…" his eyes drifted to Cole. "Cole Brookstone. Wonderful. The entire gang is here."

Cole's hand tightened on the handle, hesitating to pull the trigger.

Garmadon stepped closer, looking very calm.

"You put down the gun, boy, and I'll have my boys put theirs down as well."

Kai's gaze looked back and forth from Garmadon to Cole. The dark haired teenager kept his gun at eye level, aiming for Garmadon's chest. In one swift motion, Kai reached out and tore the gun out of Cole's hands. He shot at Garmadon's foot, then at Cole's, before dropping it and running towards the van with his sister.

Cole cried out in pain and dropped on his other knee, holding his throbbing leg in pain. In front of him, Garmadon stumbled backwards, two of the cops catching him and holding him upright.

His eyes were fixated on the two siblings who were running away. His eyes drifted to Cole and he scoffed. "Rookies." He tore his sleeve off his uniform and wrapped it tightly around his bleeding foot, then limped back to the car. "Bring him in. At least we caught one of them."

* * *

Being stuck in a prison cell suddenly became one of the first places on his list that Cole wouldn't care to be trapped in.

He couldn't believe what happened.

Kai shot him.

He _shot_ him in the foot.

And then, he and Nya just ran, leaving Cole behind for the cops to deal with. But rather than being tough enough to fight back, Cole had fell to the ground, painful memories coming back to him when he felt the small metal object embed itself in Cole's foot.

Snapping back to reality, he gently stroked a hand over his right arm. He looked up when he noticed a shadow looming into his cell.

"How's your foot?"

Looking down, Cole wiggled it in front of him and shrugged. "I've had worse."

Garmadon chuckled softly, nodding as his eyes fell upon Cole's right arm - or rather, Cole's robotic right arm.

"So, how long am I gonna be here?" Cole finally asked.

"Depends. You weren't associated with their first several crimes which means you might get it a little easier." Garmadon stepped closer to the glass separating him from Cole. "It's like them to turn on anyone and use them as a shield." Cole clenched his fist, still bitter about what happened in the alley. "You aren't the first, you know."

"So then, do I get like, some kind of free pass?"

The man burst into laughter and sighed. "Nice try, Cole, but no." Cole bit back tears. Garmadon turned around to leave, but quickly added, "Oh, and if you need anything, just press the button."

* * *

 **Present Day - middle of fall.**

"Awe, no!" Jay cried, dropping his controller on the ground. He ran up to the projected hologram and threatened to throw a fist at it, crushed that he had failed to complete the final boss level. "I worked so hard!" He frowned and picked the controller back up, quitting out of the game.

Lloyd came by behind him and laughed, tossing his friend a cookie.

Right as Jay caught it, he stuffed it in his mouth, choking back fake tears. "Mm, this good, Lloyd. Where'd you get em?" He called to the other.

"My Mom baked them. She's a pro at baking, not gonna lie." He walked backwards to Jay and looked over the hologram at the game he was playing. "You know, I beat that game weeks ago."

"Really?! How?! Please, you gotta tell me!"

"Game hacks. Easy."

Jay gasped dramatically. "Did you really just admit to cheating?"

"Hey, it isn't cheating - think of it more like a shortcut," he said with a smirk. Jay pursed his lips and shook his head at Lloyd in disappointment.

"Have you hacked your way through other things, _Lloyd_?" He scoffed and took another bite off the cookie.

The other snorted and turned for the kitchen. "Mail's probably here," he said to Jay.

Trudging to the door, Jay opened it and found Lloyd was right. He picked up the mail and brought it inside, eager to have another cookie.

"What's the mail look like today, hey, Jay?"

The dark haired teenager threw a pile of papers onto the table and began to fumble through. He picked up one of the letters and lifted it in front of him, squinting to read the handwriting.

It wasn't sloppy, but it wasn't very legible either. The cursive that this man or woman was trying to write completely failed, and all Jay could make out were the words: Lloyd Garmadon.

He gave up trying to read it and tossed it to the side, going through the rest of the pile. He started to sort out the letters - one pile for him, one for Lloyd, and the other miscellaneous. Suddenly, he came across an article with the picture of a boy just around his age on it. Curious, he snatched it from the pile and put it to side in a way he could remember to come back to it later.

When he finished going through everything, he picked up the article and leaned back in his chair, hooking his feet around the table legs.

"After 8 months in prison," Jay started to read, "Chief Garmadon has decided to release 18 - year old, Cole Brookstone."

Without realizing it, Jay had unhooked his feet from the table legs and fell backwards in his chair, holding the article high above his head.

"Jay!? You alright? What happened?!" Lloyd's voice came from the door frame, the concern in his voice easy to pick out.

"All… good… Lloyd!" Jay coughed, pulling himself off the ground.

The blonde teenager stalked towards the table, picking up the pile of letters with his name on them. "These are all mine?" He asked Jay.

"Yep!" Jay slammed his hand down on the table and took in a deep breath, grateful that nothing was hurt - except his pride - after the fall.

Lloyd caught notice of the paper in Jay's hand and pointed to it with one brow raised. "What's that?"

Jay tilted his head, his eyes following Lloyd's finger. "Oh! This?" He smoothed the partially crumpled up paper on the table and slid it to Lloyd. "Check it out yourself."

Lloyd's eyes skimmed over the article and he picked it up, holding it closer to his face. "Wasn't Cole Brookstone part of that little gang with Kai and his sister Nya?"

Jay made a 'I dunno' face and shrugged.

"Keep up with the world, Jay. It's a part of what we do anyways." He directed his attention back to the article. "If they're letting him go… well, I mean, he probably wouldn't be let go _that_ easily. Don't you think?"

"Why don't you just ask your Dad? He is the Chief, isn't he?"

"Good point."

Lloyd took the paper with him to the living room as he grabbed his phone from the end table and began to dial his father.

Two calls went by and the machine took him straight to voicemail. With a heavy sigh, Lloyd tried once more. He knew how busy his father could be with his job, but he also knew that his father promised him that he'd somehow find a way to make time for him.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Jay took the letter whose address was written in that funky cursive font and tore the envelope open. Carefully, so that he wouldn't catch a paper cut like last time, he slid the letter out of the envelope and opened it from its crease through the middle.

The first thing he saw was the logo of the Ninjago Police Department and a shiver instantly ran down his back. The next thing he noticed was the name: Chief Garmadon.

"Awe fudge." Jay muttered under his breath, folding the paper back in half. After a few seconds, he opened it once more and started to read.

Back in the living room, Lloyd dialed the number one last time, getting tired of trying to reach him.

At last, his father picked up and he heard a, "Lloyd? Is something the matter?"

"Dad! I tried to reach you at least six times!"

"I was busy, Lloyd. Now answer my question. Is something the matter?"

Lloyd huffed. "I'm fine, Dad."

"Then what might the call be for?"

"Dad… I was wondering. Jay found this article in the mail, and it says that you're releasing Cole Brookstone - that guy who was part of Kai's activities. You know, the one you've been trying to catch for years."

"Yes, what about him?"

"So you're just letting him go? Not even after a year?"

"Is there something wrong about that?"

"Kai and his sister caused _many_ problems, if you can remember that. And _Cole_ was a part of his group."

"Yes, Son, I understand that, but you know that Kai and Nya haven't been spotted for months. And we've come to the conclusion that they've stopped all their bad intentions and hide out somewhere in the city. Cole Brookstone was a bit of a rookie, it's only fair."

Lloyd grumbled. "Fine. Dad."

"Before you hang up, I take it you didn't read the letter I sent you?"

"What letter?" Just then, Lloyd's back hunched at the shrill sound of Jay's voice.

"Sounds like Jay's already found it. Tell your mother I'll be home a little late. Love you."

And he hung up.

Setting his phone down on the table, Lloyd turned to Jay, a hand over his ear. "Geez, Jay, you don't have to shout so loud - I'm not that far away."

Jay's face flushed and he handed Lloyd the paper. "Sorry, I um - here."

Lloyd tore the letter from Jay's hands and read carefully. His expression drew darker as he came closer to the end of the message his father sent him. His arm fell and he stared directly at Jay, not quite sure what he was supposed to be thinking right now, because at the moment, he felt a great mix of emotions.

Tomorrow, the two of them were to meet his father at the station, ready to meet their new best friend.

* * *

 **So yeah, another new story! I want to say: I am so sorry for not having updated _Face the Music_ regularly and for starting quite a few new stories. I also want to add, while I do love the concept for _Be Bold, Cole,_ I don't feel I can continue it _right now_. So that story is probably going to get trashed, and possibly revived later in the year or next year. Sorry guys. :/**

 **Anyways, I'm really excited for this one! As I've been planning it in my head all week, especially when listening to Taylor Swift's ... _Ready for It_! (It's actually where inspiration for this AU sparked). I drew fanart of Jay and Cole from this AU on my tumblr and already have Nya and Kai's sketches planned out :))**

 **One more quick thing, I am _super_ excited to say: _MOANA'S ANNIVERSARY IS THIS THANKSGIVING DAY_. THIS _THANKSGIVING_. I'm telling you now, I'm probably going to end up sneaking my entire Moana speech in a chapter or just put it all in my bio. I've gotta write a speech, you just know it - it'll be Thanksgiving and I am thankful for Moana. Very thankful. _Extremely_ thankful. Quoting my friend, "It's a national holiday" for the two of us :) you betcha I'll be wearing my Moana shirt, bringing Pua and my Moana POP(s) around, and definitely rewatching the movie. Oh and the Moana Maori soundtrack came out yesterday and it _beautiful_ , I kid you not.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this first chapter and like the idea!**


	2. He Likes To Chew Gum

**Annnnd back with chapter two! I decided that I'll be updating this story every Friday :)) Glad you all love the idea!**

* * *

"Why do _we_ have to do this?" Jay whispered to Lloyd. He bit the inside of his cheek when he caught Garmadon looking at him from the corner of his eyes. Jay moved away from Lloyd and bowed his head, still feeling Garmadon's stare.

"Because, _Jay_ , while Cole was here, I came to the conclusion that you two would be the right fit for the job." They followed Garmadon around the wall and were soon about to enter the room of prisoners. "Besides, you two fight for good, right? You're on our side, so why not give the new fellow a look at what that's like? Hm?" He stopped in front of a cell and tapped on the glass, poking his head at the prisoner inside.

"What do you want, Garmadon?" The man inside hissed. He bared his pointed teeth at Jay and Lloyd, a smug grin creeping up his face when he noticed the fear in Jay's eyes.

Garmadon shook his head. "Just checking up on our guests, that's all. How are you Pythor?"

"Never better," he lied and raised his newspaper to cover his face.

Chief Garmadon scoffed and continued walking, the other two following closely behind. They finally arrived at Cole's cell, which was just smack in the middle of the row. The dark haired teenager was lying on his back on the fair bed with one foot up, a wad of gum in his mouth, the chewing motion clear for Garmadon, Lloyd, and Jay to see.

All too suddenly, Cole tilted his head towards them, blowing the gum. He sat up on the bed and glared at Garmadon, not acknowledging the other two faces. Garmadon pulled out a ring of keys and held them close to his thigh.

"Congratulations, Brookstone," he started, "you're free to go."

Cole chuckled darkly. "You're joking."

Jay shivered at that voice.

It sounded cold, bitter, and raspy, sending him bad vibes.

Not only did that scare him, but his eye caught the full metallic arm that was in replace of Cole's fleshed right one. A slick, jet black arm with bright blinking blue lights. It also struck him curious as to how Cole lost his arm in the first place. He gulped, trying hard to keep a brave face.

"Am I?" Garmadon held the keys up high for Cole to see and began to unlock his cell door. Cole's eyes widened and the gum popped. Green eyes made their way back to Garmadon.

"What's the catch?"

"Ooh, you sure are smart, Brookstone," Garmadon chuckled, fixing the hat that sat on his head. He pushed Jay and Lloyd forward, just at the cell entrance. "Meet your new roommates."

Cole's head lowered as he looked between the two and his hair fell over his eyes, making him appear shady. "Lloyd Garmadon, right? I've seen you around whenever you come to visit." He stared at Lloyd's hoodie. "You like green a lot, huh." Lloyd ignored that. Cole then looked to Jay, raising a brow.

"Oh, gosh," Jay squeaked, sinking behind Lloyd.

Cole scoffed in response. "And who are you?"

"J-Jay Walker," he swallowed, fisting a handful of Lloyd's hoodie. Lloyd groaned and shook Jay off, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Jay Walker? Were you born a jaywalker or what?"

Garmadon pointed a finger at Cole. "You are going to be under the custody of these two for the next three to four months. _Don't_ push it."

Cole stood up and stalked to the end of what had been his home for the past eight months, hand on his hip and just inches away from Jay's face. Jay's knees bent and he sunk down lower. Cole popped another bubble and chuckled. "So, Jay Walker?"

Jay swallowed again. "Y-Yeah."

"You-"

Jay winced when he felt Lloyd wrap a hand around his arm and tug him backwards.

"If you're staying with us, we're going to need to set some rules," Lloyd said to Cole. The other just blew another bubble in response. This time, a really big one. "You said to me when you first brought him here, he was pretty innocent," Lloyd said to his father, trying to understand where he went wrong. "He's acting really… _way_ different than how you described him to be before."

"Well, Son, even 8 months in a prison can change you." Garmadon pulled Lloyd away to talk so Cole couldn't hear. "Kai and Nya left him in the dust, right in front of our eyes. The boy shot Cole in the foot."

Lloyd mouthed a silent 'oh'. He felt his father's hands firmly grasp his shoulders. "Lloyd, _please_ do this. For Ninjago, and if not for Ninjago, than for me. I know you and Jay can figure something out. And trust me, he isn't as bad as you think."

Lloyd turned his head to the other two and he saw Cole with his back pressed up against the wall and his arms folded across his chest. Just several feet to his right, Jay stood, biting his bottom lip while his hands were hidden in his pockets. The younger one was clearly panicking inside, the presence of a previous fugitive beside him making his brain scream: "alert! alert! alert!" over and over again.

"For me, Lloyd," his father said to him, a smile on his face.

How could he say no to his Dad?

* * *

 **The Next Day**

Lloyd stumbled into the dining room the next day, rubbing his tired eyes. He leaned against the door frame and yawned before uttering, "Jay… did you… did you check the mail… or somethin'...?"

Jay lifted his head and looked to Lloyd. "Uh, Lloyd, I got the mail like, two days ago. Wait a bit longer would ya?"

"Oh… right… right." He smacked his lips together and pushed himself off the frame, heading to make himself a bowl of cereal. He opened the cupboard and pulled out a box, taking the milk out from the fridge right after.

He was dead tired.

Last night, all he could think about was how a former fugitive was sleeping under the same roof he was. It just wouldn't go away. And his Dad seemed so proud of him… He had a plan, however, first time he read that letter. He would make Jay watch over Cole more often than he. Yeah, that would wo-

"Lloyd!"

"Wha-Huh?!" Lloyd's head jolted up and he looked at the mess in front of him. A puddle of milk surrounded his overflowing bowl of cereal. With a groan, the blonde put the milk away and searched the kitchen for a damp cloth. After cleaning up his mess, he took a seat at the table across from Jay and surveyed the room.

A bowl of the cookies that his Mom baked were sitting in the middle of the table and a tall glass of milk to the left of Jay's plate. As suspected, Jay was scrolling through his phone at the table, eyes fixated on whatever was on his screen now.

Other than that, they were the only two in the dining room.

Lloyd stared at his bowl, which was filled all the way to the brim with milk. He picked up his spoon and started to lessen the milk in the bowl. After what felt like five minutes, he finally asked, "Where's Cole?"

Jay's fork played with the scrambled eggs on his plate and he lifted a forkful of eggs to his mouth, but missed by an inch. "Probably still sleeping."

"Could you go check on him?" Lloyd asked with a innocent grin.

"Ahah… nope."

"Jay, come on, I'm really tired. Not quite in the right shape to deal with him right now."

"Need I remind you? Or were you not there yesterday? I am not cool with this, Lloyd… And he has a freaking robotic arm!" Jay stuffed a piece of the bacon in his mouth. "I'm not going up there."

Lloyd growled and pulled the bowl of cookies away from Jay as a threat.

Annoyed and angry, the brunette pushed his chair back roughly and stood up.

"Fine! Geez…"

* * *

Jay stood and stared at the door which belonged to Cole's room. He lifted a shaky hand and shut his eyes before knocking three times.

"Hey, Brookstone! Ya in there?"

Jay instantly regretted calling Cole by his last name… but that was how they did it in prison, right? He knocked again.

"Open the door, would ya?"

After letting two minutes fly by, he rolled his eyes and grasped the doorknob, pushing the door open.

He froze when he found Cole laid back in a chair with his feet kicked up against the wall, hands behind his head and another stick of gum in his mouth.

Unlike yesterday, he was now dressed in something new - a light grey bomber jacket, the sleeve over his right arm torn, exposing his robot arm, over a white shirt (which was bound to get dirty quick) with a single black stripe running diagonally across. His jacket matched with a pair of what looked to be dark colored cargo pants, resting over black combat boots.

"Grr… get your feet off the wall!" Jay yelled, closing the door halfway and marching into the room. The older teen dropped his legs and brought his arms down to his lap, raising a brow at Jay. The brunette struggled to find his words as he glared furiously at Cole. The former fugitive, on the other hand, looked to be enjoying this. Jay opened his mouth. "Were - were you just sitting here the whole time?..." He glanced around the room. "Why didn't you open the door?"

Cole stood up and walked closer to Jay, hands stuffed in his pocket. Though they weren't far apart agewise, Cole was still taller than the other, allowing him to look down on Jay, a cocky grin on his face. "Didn't feel like it."

Jay growled in frustration but was soon bending down lower when the other cocked his head, staring right at Jay like he didn't care at all. The ginger emitted a small peep, lifting his hands over his chest.

"Gosh, it is hilarious seeing you trying _so hard_ to act enraged." Cole said with a laugh. He blew a bubble, the gum just millimeters away from Jay's hair. Jay grumbled, his face reddening. "You're amusing, Bluebell." Then, Cole brushed past him to the door, roughly bumping his shoulder against Jay's, which Jay guessed was one-hundred percent intentional. "Already had breakfast, by the way."

"What? When?!"

Jay hadn't turned around yet when he heard Cole open the door wider from behind.

"When you weren't awake." Cole held onto the door for a few more seconds before adding, "By the way… don't call me Brookstone."

* * *

 **New Ninjago City Police Department**

At the front of the New Ninjago City Police Department, Zane Julien stood, holding his papers close to his chest, a book bag slung over his shoulder.

He was dressed nicely in a sweater and dirty white slacks. He pushed open the doors and started for the front desk.

"Hello. Um, Chief Garmadon? Where can I find him?"

The lady at the desk lowered her glasses and noticed all of Zane's messy papers. "First day on the job?" She asked.

Zane nodded in response.

The lady gave him directions to Garmadon's office and Zane left with a 'thank you'. Once he made it to Garmadon's office, he knocked slowly on the door, nervous about meeting the Chief for the first time - face to face.

The door opened and Garmadon stood there with a pleasant smile on his face, stepping aside for Zane to come in.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Zane," he said, taking his seat and urging Zane to do the same. Zane nodded. "So, Zane, you picked up the files I asked for, yes?"

Zane nodded a second time.

"What do Kai's files say?" Chief Garmadon asked, easing back into his chair.

He watched as Zane thumbed through all his papers, searching for Kai's. Once he finally found it, he placed it on the desk and opened the file before him. Pulling out a paper, he handed it to Garmadon before pulling out a second file.

"It says he is dead. Sir."

"Hmm…"

"Something wrong, Sir?"

Garmadon motioned to the other file Zane held. "Nya's, I presume?"

Nodding, Zane put the file beside Kai's and opened it, handing another paper to Garmadon. "She is not dead, Sir."

"Kai's death was yesterday, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

Garmadon glanced over both of the papers, leaving Zane sitting there awkwardly. He noticed how uncomfortable Zane must've been feeling and he lowered the papers, handing Zane a candy from his candy bowl.

"You can wait outside if you feel like it, Zane. But please leave the files and other papers here," Garmadon told him.

Zane blinked, a little lost in space. "Y-Yes, Sir."

As Zane stood to leave, Garmadon focused his attention back to the papers, going through all the others Zane left on his desk.

He remembered sending a small group of officers out to the small neighborhood in which the emergency call was traced back to. It was such a shock that day when the news came in that Kai Smith was dead. It was said that the house caught on fire, and while his sister made it out in time, Kai didn't. Nya was brought in the station for interrogation and after that, she fled.

Garmadon wasn't around when Nya was in the station. However, he did tell his officers to treat her as they would a normal person. After all, the hunt for the Smith siblings had gone on for years, and when the two of them had presumably stopped their criminal ways, Garmadon let it slide past, putting newer, bigger problems at top priority. When the time came around, though, he would eventually bring Nya in for service to make up for all the crime she and her brother had committed.

The Chief looked at the papers once more, eyeing Kai's picture closely. After years of crime he still hadn't figured out what motivated them to take this path.

"Sir, someone is here to see you," Zane said, his head between the door and frame.

Garmadon sat up in his chair and leaned forward, turning the papers upside down and sliding them away.

"Bring them in."

The door opened wider and Zane stepped aside to allow a girl that looked to be around his age inside the small office. She tilted her hat up and gazed directly into Garmadon's eyes.

"I'd like to speak with the Chief."

* * *

 **Question for today: who's seeing Murder on the Orient Express? I am! Hope you guys do too!**

 **Also hope you enjoyed this chapter ^_^ Have a great weekend!**


	3. It's Like Halfway Happy

_Bluebell?_ Jay frowned and shook his head, picking up a game controller. Relaxing into the couch, he brought the bowl filled with chips to his right and hit 'start' on the main menu screen. _And why does he have to be chewing gum all the time?_

Popping a handful of chips into his mouth, he started to move his avatar around the map, taking caution as he moved the avatar from one shipment box to another. The game he had put in was one of his favorite games in the history of video games. It wasn't the same one that he played before - the one Lloyd had bluntly admitted to cheating in. Rather, it was a game of warfare as you tried to survive the apocalypse while also taking out the people who were behind the beginning of it. Yes, those guys were alive.

Jay thought it was stupid - they should've died the moment they realized their mistakes, but video games will be video games, he told himself.

 _Bluebell?!_ Jay clenched his teeth, slamming a finger on the 'X' button. Hearing that word first come out of Cole's mouth was a shocker - he despised when people he wasn't familiar with started to call him by nicknames. _Especially_ Bluebell. To be honest, that was the first. _And I'm not amusing_ , he scoffed. To him, that felt extremely close to the same as saying Jay was cute - as in, not tough, not very leadership material, and not like Lloyd. He let out a low growl.

His avatar took out two infected victims.

That minute he heard the name _Bluebell_ , he had the sudden urge to strike back and call Cole by his last name, as the event that went down in Cole's room proved he hated when people called him that way.

Jay's finger landed on the 'B1' button and his avatar fired a string of bullets at the dozens of infected victims heading his way.

Though, the way Cole had warned Jay not to call him Brookstone sent a shiver up his spine and he felt small once again.

"Hey, Jay!" Lloyd's voice came from the doorway. Jay paused the game and looked up.

"Yeah?"

"My Mom asked me to get some groceries for her. You don't mind staying here with Cole, do you?"

Jay's eye twitched and he faked a smile. "Yeah! No problemo! You go… I'll stay here."

"Alright! I had a thought you were going to say 'no' to staying behind, since, yanno, you kinda threw a fit about it this morning… but, I guess I was wrong. Thanks a lot, Jay! Just remember, Cole has a tracker on him, - so if something happens…"

"Gotcha."

With a nod, Lloyd dashed away leaving behind a very ticked off Jay.

* * *

The girl at the door fixed the hat on her head and her eyes flickered to Garmadon. The Chief's eyes grew wide at who stood before him and he pointed her to a seat.

"Miss Smith. Welcome. I am very sorry I couldn't make it yesterday after what happened to your brother… What can I help you with?"

Nya took her seat before Garmadon and took off her hat, staring directly into his eyes.

She cleared her throat. "Sir, I know this must be… _sudden_ , but I'd like to turn myself in."

"Excuse me?" Garmadon stared, bewildered.

"I've been on the run with my brother for years. I decided it's time... I'd like to turn myself in and commit to whatever punishment you have in mind. Sir."

The Chief sat speechless for several minutes. He was tempted to ask why Nya had come in to ask that so suddenly, but he figured it would have been immensely rude to do so. At last, he cleared his throat, catching Nya's attention.

"Uh - um. You're certain?" Nya nodded. "Very well, Miss Smith."

His eyes looked to the ceiling as he struggled to come up with a consequence for Nya's crimes.

"You're doing the right thing, Miss Smith. You and your brother have been on the run for over four years. However, seeing how your brother is no longer with you, as are your parents, I decided that you will work here for the time being." He motioned for Zane to come forward. "You will work with Zane. Zane, this is Nya Smith."

"Nice to meet you, Zane," Nya said, shaking Zane's hand, her grip not too tight.

"It is nice to meet you too, Nya." Zane glanced at Garmadon over Nya's shoulder. The Chief gave Zane a smile and a nod before his expression told Zane that the two of them were asked to leave his office. The quiet teen walked Nya out of the office and closed the door for his boss.

As Garmadon was left alone once again, just as he wanted, he resumed looking through Kai's files.

* * *

Jay strode into the kitchen, happily whistling a cheerful tune until his eyes fell upon the one person he wasn't hoping on seeing so soon.

"Riiight." Jay clicked his tongue, "Lloyd's out to get groceries so I'm stuck here. With you."

With a shrug, Cole picked up one of the remaining homemade cookies and stuffed it in his mouth. "So, Bluebell-"

Jay rolled his eyes. There it was again. That stupid nickname.

"Do you just sit around in a room all day playing video games?"

Jay's head sunk between his shoulders and he muttered, "No…"

Having nothing better to do, he sat in a chair while his eyes followed Cole's every move. Jay guessed that since Cole was held in prison for nearly a year that maybe Cole wasn't used to being back inside a house.

He got curious when Cole picked up one of the tablets sitting on the counter - _Jay's_ tablet - and searched for the 'on' button.

"I used to want one of these so bad when I was younger," Cole finally said, at last locating the button he was looking for. He switched the tablet on and found that a password was needed for it to unlock. With a sigh, he turned it off and put it back down, turning around to face Jay.

"What else do you like to do, Bluebell?"

"Eat food, sleep, sit… not much."

"Hearing that makes you sound sad. You know what a coffee shop is?"

Jay's lips pressed together and formed a thin line."Pfft, yeah. What do you take me for? An idiot?"

Cole snorted, pressing his back against the counter. "Yeah, sure. Anyways, I was thinking… you guys gotta look after me, right?" Jay nodded slowly. "And right now, with Lloyd not here it's _painfully_ clear you don't want to be the one stuck with me… Well how about a compromise? Today, we do what _I_ want, and tomorrow we do what _you_ want."

Jay's eyes narrowed in on Cole and he ran the offer Cole had suggested through his head carefully.

"Quiiick question. Why do we have to do what _you_ want today?"

" _Because_. I, for one, want to get back out there and see what Ninjago's been up to since the past eight months I've been in prison." Jay frowned when he realized that Cole made a valid reason. "And not gonna lie but I'm pretty sure if I let you have today, then we'd be sitting around the house like dogs waiting for their owner to return."

Still clueless of how to respond to Cole when he was clearly right, Jay threw his hands in the air, giving up. "Argh! Fine!" Jay stood up from his chair suddenly.

Cole laughed a bit, tilting his head. "What? If you had something planned to do _outside_ of the house, then I could take over tomorrow."

Jay opened his mouth to speak, but then shoved his recent thoughts away and said, "Yeah. Yanno what, I do. Let's go somewhere."

* * *

The moment Lloyd stepped in the grocery store, he swiftly swooped up a basket and started to go through the mental list of all the things his mom requested.

He didn't want to be at the grocery store for long. There was this one employee, a girl, who would always follow him around and start bombarding him with questions that were too silly for him to answer. But he did anyways. And when she started to follow him, so did everyone else, and soon, a whole crowd would gather around.

Though, on the other hand, he didn't want to go back home either. At least, not at the moment. As long as Jay was still there, watching over Cole, then why would he need to go back right away?

He stumbled across the aisle covered almost entirely with bread and with a grin on his face, went down to look for the right loaf of bread.

When he reached out to grab one, he heard a whisper from the other end of the aisle and turned to look.

"It's Lloyd Garmadon!" One of them whispered loudly.

Stuffing the bread in the basket, he walked towards the sources of the voice.

"Caaaan I help you?" He asked.

Two teenage boys, a little younger than he, stood with bright smiles on their faces, phones in their hands.

The second boy who hadn't said anything cleared his throat. "Sorry, we know you must get a lot of people every time you go out of the house but, is it true that you and Jay are housing to a criminal?"

"Uh, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Oh, well, we overheard two policemen talking about it! Don't worry, I don't think anyone else has found out about it… But… you guys will still come in times of danger, right?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Lloyd's lips and he nodded. "Yeah, don't lose faith, kid."

The other boy chuckled a bit. "You two are my hero's! You're father's lucky to have someone like you to back them up."

"Aw, yeah, shucks." Lloyd's cheeks reddened.

"I - it was nice talking with you," the boy said, nudging his friend slightly.

The other boy's head perked up and he nodded quickly. "Yeah! Um, bye!"

Lloyd watched as the two boys proceeded to leave. His eyes fell to the ground and he thought about what he just experienced. That was the first time ever that his fans had taken into consideration his feelings when going out in public. The two boys were so nice to him, even when he believed that all his fans would start rampaging him in public. Reaching his arm out, he called to them, "Wait!"

The boys stopped and turned around.

"You two want a picture or something?"

* * *

Jay lied.

He had no clue what he was doing.

No clue where he wanted to go.

No clue why he even told Cole he knew what he wanted to do.

No clue why he agreed to Cole's stupid, reasonable, compromise.

Actually, he did have a clue. He didn't want to let Cole take the reigns for the day. Not for the _first_ day.

He heard a bubble pop loudly in his right ear and he grumbled, glaring at Cole from the corner of his eyes. Jay pursed his lips. "Do you _have_ to be chewing gum all the time?"

"None of your business."

"But it's _annoying_. If you're going to do that, at least do it when I'm not around - gah!" Jay jumped when Cole popped another. He figured that Cole had ignored Jay's recent statement, his eyes flickered to Cole's robotic arm. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your arm?"

The bubble popped.

He heard Cole sigh and Jay's shoulders came up in a hunch. "Actually, I _do_ mind, Bluebell. Listen, I already let you choose what to do today, so no more questions. Got it?"

Jay nodded slowly. "Okay, okay. Maybe some other time…" His stomach rumbled. "Hey um, you wanna grab a quick snack?" He quickly closed his mouth when he realized he had just asked another question. "Whoops! Hah… thaaaat was a question."

Cole lolled his head back and laughed, shaking his head at Jay. "Like I said, amusing." He began to speed his walking up a little, now ahead of Jay. Just when Jay thought Cole would've stopped talking to him, the dark haired called out from the front, "So, where we heading, Bluebell?"

Jay was struck blank and his gaze hurriedly moved from store to store. "Um… _Records_ … _and More_?" He bit the inside of his cheek nervously as Cole stopped to allow Jay to catch up to him.

Cole's eyes lit up. "That store's still around? Huh, nice. Alright then, let's go."

The brunette let out a breath of relief and noticed Cole had continued walking again. He quickly ran to the other, the two of them now on their way to _Records and More_.

* * *

Lloyd whirled around after the several photos he took with the boys and was ready to continue shopping.

As he walked, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his message threads, searching for his father's. He knew it was a bad idea to be on his phone while walking, but just a few minutes wouldn't hurt, he thought.

He noticed a sample table to his left and stopped to take one, stuffing the cracker in his mouth as he diverted his eyes back to his phone.

Finally, he found his Dad's thread and pulled it up, the keyboard popping up on screen as soon as he hit the text box.

"What you want for dinner?" Lloyd said as he typed his exact words.

 _what u want 4 dinner?_

Send.

 _Like the smart person he was_ , he kept his eyes on his phone, swallowing the rest of the cracker. It wasn't long before he bumped shoulders with someone roughly. Lloyd looked up from his phone and looked around for the person he had run into.

"Ugh," Lloyd muttered, turning off his phone and sliding it into his pocket. "At least I didn't fall over." He kept gazing around the store, hoping to find someone who looked like they could be the guy.

The rough bump on the shoulder felt purposely done to Lloyd and he wanted to meet with this stranger and ask him just what his business was.

He started to head backwards, certain that the stranger had walked down the same path Lloyd had earlier. Each aisle he came across, he turned his head to check if someone was there and if any one of them could be the stranger.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed and he reached in his pocket, pulling it out.

 _is pasta fine with your mother?_

Lloyd chuckled softly, replying,

 _she needed me 2 get pasta anyways._

Before he could put his phone away, the stranger brushed past him again and Lloyd acted quick, gripping a fistful of the other's coat.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going, huh?" Lloyd hissed, "What's the deal running into me?" Tugging at the stranger's coat, he was practically begging for him to turn around. Just as Lloyd had hoped, the stranger turned around and met with Lloyd's eyes, a smug grin on his face. The blonde immediately let go and took a step back, eyes wide with fear.

The young man extended his arm, showing Lloyd a box of Fritz Donegan cookies. "You dropped this."

Lloyd swiftly took the box from the other's hand and put it away in his basket, his brows knitted closely together.

The chocolate spiky hair, the faded scar under his left eye, and the same tight expression on his face as the one on his file photo left Lloyd speechless.

"See you around, Lloyd."

* * *

 **Hah, did y'all catch the Stranger Things reference in the chapter title? Man, I sure did italicize words a lot in this chapter XP**

 **Question for the day: DC or Marvel? I'm an avid and huge Marvel fan and grew up with it so I definitely gotta say Marvel. But I do love both :)) just Marvel more. I'd really love to know especially since JL comes out today (here) and I'm going to see it! Despite what harsh critics may say about it :)**

 **Hope you all enjoyed!**


	4. Overreacting

**This chapter is shorter than the first three but I think it's enough for today's chapter :)) Enjoy!**

* * *

It was hard to keep his mouth shut during dinner at the Garmadon apartment. The memory of meeting Kai, the said to be _deceased_ _Kai_ , was still fresh in his head and he couldn't shake it away. In fact, it wasn't easy to hide the fact that he had something to share away from his parents.

He pushed his pasta around on his plate, then twirled it around his fork and left it sitting there.

His father had returned from the kitchen with a glass of juice.

"Lloyd, honey, is there something on your mind?"

Lloyd turned his head at his mother's voice and saw the concern in her eyes. Before he said anything, he looked to his father.

"Dad, your files said that Kai was dead, right?"

"Yes…" Garmadon drawled, raising a sudden brow.

"I… I saw him. At the store. I _saw_ Kai."

Garmadon turned swiftly to face his son. "You saw Kai?"

Lloyd nodded. "I saw him. He was _alive_."

Misako also looked to her son, confused and shocked. "Lloyd, that can't be right. He's dead, isn't he?"

The young man continued to shake his head as his eyes fell back onto his plate. "No, I swear, I saw him. The fire he was in, maybe that wasn't his body in the fire. Maybe it was a decoy or _something_ , but he isn't dead."

"I knew it," Garmadon started, pushing back his chair, "I knew he couldn't be dead, it just didn't feel right." He stood up and went to grab his thick coat hanging by the door.

"Dad?" Lloyd began, rushing up after him, "where are you going?"

The Chief opened the door and stepped outside, quickly saying to Lloyd, "To visit an old friend."

* * *

With Lloyd away, that meant Jay was alone at their shared house.

And Jay couldn't really take it anymore.

At the records store, Cole wouldn't stop gushing over practically every single record and album on the shelf. It was surprising actually. Jay hadn't thought Cole would get so worked up over a bunch of discs, but he did, and the side of him that showed at the records store wasn't _horrible,_ if he was being completely honest.

He was actually a decent guy.

The main door had just closed and Jay carried the pizza box up the stairs to Lloyd's room. He pressed a palm against the door, pushing it open slowly, seeing Cole on the bed with headphones over his head. Gum, in his mouth, as usual. Jay sighed. He was forced into lending his music player and headphones to the former prisoner in front of him. He didn't really care much for them, as he hardly had any use of them anymore, but loaning them to a prisoner was the last thing he had in mind for them. Jay laughed silently, _nervously_.

He cleared his throat and lifted his hands, holding the large box in front of him. "I ordered pizza."

Cole looked up from the player and stared right at Jay. "Pizza?"

The other closed the door behind him and pressed his back against it, shrugging. "Um, ya… is that not okay with you?"

"I like pizza," Cole replied, his eyes falling back to the screen.

Jay lifted the box in his hands and put it on the side table, opening it and taking out a slice for himself. When Cole felt the mattress dip beside him, he looked to see Jay sitting a good distance away from him with a pizza up to his mouth.

"You're eating in here? On the bed?"

"If anything happens you can use Lloyd's room," Jay said with a careless shrug and took another bite of the pizza. He watched as Cole blew another bubble. Swallowing, Jay asked, "Aren't you gonna have some pizza? I mean, the box is right there."

"Not hungry."

Jay drew in a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Not even one slice?"

"Not. Hungry." Cole turned his head and smiled - the 'stop bugging me or you'll regret it' kind of smile, sending Jay wide eyed.

 _C'mon, Jay. Just_ try _to act like you can tolerate him. For Lloyd._ He cursed under his breath and looked around the room, trying to draw ideas of conversation starters. Suddenly, he got an idea, but it required him to inch a little closer to Cole. So he did so, and he peered over to the music player, eyes skimming over the list of songs.

"I guess you like music a lot, huh?"

"Are you _asking_ to get a fist to the face?"

Jay swallowed. "Wh-wh- no…?"

"Well, I can't anyways. Something like that could have me back in prison and I totally do not want that."

"Hah, yeah, who would?" Jay unknowingly added. He was taken aback when Cole shifted on the bed and faced him, legs cross-legged on the mattress. The older boy took off the headphones and hung them around his neck, blowing another bubble. "What are you doing?"

"I didn't actually think you'd stick around in here, so… you need something? Or…?" Jay's shoulders rose till they were touching his ears and he flashed Cole an awkward grin. "Alright then, let's talk, Bluebell."

"Talk?"

Cole couldn't help but snicker. "Yes, _talk_. But no questions about the arm."

Jay took a quick glance at Cole's right arm. Oh, right, he forgot about that. "Got it."

But he wanted to know about the arm.

That was the only thing constantly bugging him since he first met Cole.

And… what could it do?

Jay pushed those thoughts to the back as he reached for another slice of pizza. The bubble popped and Jay looked to Cole. The other had already drawn his attention back to the music player screen, waiting for Jay to say something.

"What was prison like?" Jay finally asked, lifting the slice to his lips.

Cole's head shot up and he lowered the player. "Lonely… hardly anything to do… hardly anyone to talk to."

"You didn't have a cellmate or anything?"

"In case you didn't notice, Bluebell, the area in which I was in was for all the single cells. _No one_ had a cellmate." Cole reached forward to grab a slice and Jay flinched in the way. Cole pulled the slice and quickly drew back. "You're scared of me, aren't you?"

"No. No, I'm just cautious."

"Intimidated?"

" _Cautious_. It's not exactly a normal thing to have a prisoner living in your house."

Cole scoffed, then said to Jay with a smirk, "Scared. You were definitely scared when Garmadon brought you two in to meet me."

"I'm _not_ scared- I _wasn't_ scared! Gah! It's like you know you're getting on my nerves."

"It's just a little teasing," Cole said, licking what was left from the pizza off his fingers. "You're overreacting."

Jay stared at Cole, his face painted red. Speechless, he turned around so that he was facing the wall, his back to Cole. The young man brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them, burying his head in the crook of his knees.

Cole took off the headphones from around his neck and felt a small knot in his stomach.

"I'm gonna grab a drink. You want anything?"

It was silent for about a full minute until Jay finally spoke. "Water," he said softly.

Jay heard the soft thud of the door closing and he lifted his head just a bit, gazing around the room. His eyes fell upon the music player and headphones that were left on the bed. Putting the headphones over his head, he scrolled through the library of music, sitting back against the wall.

Cole was right, he was overreacting.

* * *

The minute the door opened, the bell above it shook and a high ringing sound was heard throughout the store. Garmadon shook his head with slight disappointed. He hadn't been back here for almost a month and a bell was already added.

Then, a man dressed in a snug maroon sweatshirt popped up from the back and he clicked his tongue at the Chief. "Hey, Chief! Back already? It's been what? Almost a month since you last visited me. You know, I was starting to think you had forgotten all the fun we had together."

The Chief rolled his eyes at the man's _amusing_ remark. "I'm not here to buy anything, Ronin."

With a laugh, Ronin rested his elbows on the counter, leaning forward. "I was kinda hoping you would, but I figured. It's really dark outside, what are you doing here?"

"Kai Smith died several days ago. I'm sure you've heard of him."

Ronin's eyes grew wide and he held back a gasp. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard of the Smith siblings. Honestly, who hasn't?"

"I think he's alive."

"You think he's _alive_? Well, hah, that's the craziest thing I've heard all day. People coming back from the dead. Ooh, spooky!"

Garmadon curled his fingers, slamming a fist down on the counter. Ronin stepped back, hands in the air. "Is it? It was a fire, Ronin. In a fire that bad, that body could've been anyone's, no one could really tell."

"Then what made your men so sure that is was Kai's body?" Ronin asked, a teasing grin on his face.

"Anyways," Garmadon continued with a low growl, "I need your help. You know these kids, you can find Kai."

"What about his sister?"

"Nya's already started a job at the department with Zane. She'll be back tomorrow morning to work with Zane. That shouldn't be a problem."

"Does she know that her brother is alive?"

Garmadon turned around, ready to head back home. "I'm sure she does, but I wouldn't go around assuming anything. Whatever they're up to, I need to know. And when you find Kai, tell me. _Right away_."

"You got it, Chief."

* * *

 **Question for the day: did anyone go Black Friday shopping?**


	5. I Bet This, I Bet That

**New Day**

Jay threw his controller at the couch and turned to Lloyd, eyes glazed with anger. "Lloyd, how could you?! This was going to be _my_ day! I told you I _don't like_ him! Why can't you ever do something with him?"

"I've got my own things to do, Jay," Lloyd started, leaning against the door frame. "Besides, if you don't like him, then you should try and get used to having him around. Remember, my Dad said he'd be staying with us for three months or so."

"What do _you_ have to do that's so important?"

"One, you were going to play video games - you know I have to thank Cole for getting you out of the house the other day. And two, I saw Kai, Jay."

The younger man's blood ran cold and he raised a shaky hand at his friend. "You, you saw the dead guy?" He swallowed. "Kai?"

" _You saw Kai_?"

Lloyd's muscles tensed and he stumbled into the room, hands in front of his chest.

"Cole! You scared me!"

The other shrugged a laugh and pushed his gum to the side of his mouth. He laid eyes on Jay standing in the middle of the room and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

"Hey, Bluebell."

Lloyd glanced at Jay from the corner of his eyes and noticed his friend looking a little perplexed and stunned.

"Hi."

It was then an uncomfortable silence fell in place while Lloyd's gaze jumped from Cole to Jay continuously. The young man in green caught a glimpse at Cole's metal fingers as they slowly crawled into his pocket, staying in there. Jay, on the other hand, was trying to ignore that Cole had called him Bluebell once again.

Finally, Cole cleared his throat and raised a curious brow at Lloyd.

"So, he isn't dead?"

Lloyd shook his head. "I know what I saw. I told my Dad and we're starting to think something's up. He wouldn't have faked his death for no reason." Lloyd stepped into the room and picked up his hoodie which was draped over the couch. Throwing it on, he flashed a little smile at Jay, then turned to Cole. "Could you maybe… I wanna have a moment with Jay."

Surprisingly, Cole was cooperative with Lloyd and left the room without another word. The blonde teenager closed the door and drew his attention back to Jay.

"Bluebell?" He snorted.

"Don't ask…"

"Hey, who knows, maybe after today, you'll start to like Cole."

"I mean, at the records store he did seem like a nice guy… but that's not…" Jay directed his attention to the floor, carefully processing Lloyd's words. Finally, he asked, "Wha- do _you_ like him?"

Halfway to the door, Lloyd looked over his shoulder and grinned. "He isn't a bad guy, Jay. I bet deep down, you really don't hate him."

* * *

Ronin scoured through his drawers, searching for the tab which Nya had given him whenever he needed to reach them. Starting to grow annoyed by his hat falling on his face, Ronin took it off and tossed it on the table.

His eyes lit up the minute his hand landed on the flat surface of the device and he placed it on the table, turning it on.

At first, the tab buzzed, the voice on the other end, fuzzy and difficult to understand.

"Ronin?"

"Kai, we need to talk." Ronin drummed his fingers on the counter. "Kai, _where are you_."

"Why do you want to know?" Kai asked bitterly.

" _You faked your death?_ "

"Don't worry, it's all part of the plan-"

Ronin raised a brow in utter confusion. "Plan? What plan? Kai, this is serious. Chief Garmadon is after you and he's got your sister too."

"Don't get too worried about that either. Nya knows what she's doing."

The man sighed and he put a hand to his forehead, trying to remember the times when the Smith siblings weren't such a handful.

"Can you meet me on Elemental Way? By the cafe?" He paused, waiting for a response. " _Kai_ , _do you hear me_? Kai-" Ronin's voice faltered when he heard another voice on the other end of the call.

The voice sent a chill down his spine and he immediately shot to his hand out to end the call. His hand rested weakly on the counter and he stared blankly at the top of it, the only thing running through his head: the unknown voice with Kai.

He remained in that position for several minutes, trying to process everything that had just happened. Reaching for his hat, he tucked the tab away and directed himself to the storefront.

* * *

The young woman shut the cabinet file and she turned to Zane, folders pressed to her chest. The swift turn allowed her hair to bounce off her shoulders and her hat to tip to the side. She flashed Zane a genuine smile when he fixed the hat's position.

"How long have you been working here, Zane?"

"I actually just started the same day you came in," he told her, a coolness in his voice that made Nya feel like he was a trustworthy person. "I'm sorry about your brother, again. He was the only family you had left, wasn't he?"

Nya's eyes fell to the floor and she bit the inside of her cheek, flashing back to that day. "Yeah… it's, it's alright. I'm alright."

The two employees started to walk to the door, immediately striking up a conversation.

"You took the wrong files," Zane suddenly said, pointing at the papers in Nya's hands.

"I did?" Nya looked down at the folders, a small gasp escaping her lips. "Hang on a minute while I go back to grab the right ones!"

The young woman noted that Zane was waiting for her by the elevator and she went on back to the filing cabinets, hurriedly searching for the right ones. When she finally found them, she whirled back around nearly bumping into Chief Garmadon.

She stumbled backwards, startled and clutched the papers tightly, her hat flying off. Garmadon bent down and picked it up, dusting it off before returning the cap to her.

"Miss Smith?"

Nya gathered her words and started to speak very quickly. "Chief Garmadon! Did I do something wrong…?"

The Chief opened his mouth to speak, but then noticed the worry swimming in Nya's brown eyes and he let out an exhausted sigh. "No worries. I just wanted to say that you're doing a fine job, Miss Smith."

* * *

The moment Jay and Cole had stepped out of the dollar store, he spotted a man dressed in dark, tight, clothing holding a sack bag in his hands. Jay could clearly tell he wasn't on their side and he dashed straight after him.

"Hey! Thief!"

He silently cursed to himself when he realized Cole wasn't following. Of course, just leave Jay to do all the work… after all, why would a fugitive want to reform anyways? He thought sarcastically. The thief dove into an alleyway and Jay hadn't stopped chasing him. He took a sharp turn to the alley and spotted the thief just several feet away from the other end.

Jay clenched his teeth together in frustration. It was unfortunate for him since he left his hefty gadgets at the house. Lloyd always carried his around.

When the thief was out of his field of vision, he looked down to his watch and spoke quickly, "Show a map of Ninjago City, with a radius of 5 miles from my location." In a split second, a hologram projected upwards for Jay to get a allowing Jay to get a glimpse of what was around him. He caught notice of a shortcut around back and Jay ran straight for it, hoping he would catch the thief.

He suddenly skidded to a stop when a car sped by, frightening Jay. With a huff,he collected himself and continued running. A car nearly killing him wasn't anything new, honestly - he had much worse during his past missions with Lloyd.

The second his eyes fell on the thief, Jay realized he was too far to catch up and he felt his stomach twist in defeat. Between him and Lloyd, he was the fastest - he would speed through obstacle courses, tinker his way out of traps, and most importantly, use his watch to play games; but now, now he felt small, small and upset at himself that he wasn't fast enough to catch the guy.

He looked back up and saw the thief still running as if Jay was still on his tail. Truthfully, he would've appreciated some help from Cole, but what was the guy gonna do, huh? Cole wouldn't help him. He wouldn't lift a _single_ finger.

Jay. Didn't. Like. Cole.

Or maybe it was more of mixed feelings.

But he was certain that he was making it very clear to tell.

Everything about Cole _annoyed_ him.

The gum, the attitude… though he had to admit, the robot arm was super cool.

And yeah, he was a bit intimidated during first introductions, but he wasn't going to confess it to Cole's face - especially after last night when Cole wouldn't stop teasing him.

"Oops."

Jay tilted his head up at the sound of the voice.

"Was I not supposed to hurt this guy? All I did was trip him."

There Cole stood with the thief's bag in one hand and the thief himself in the other, held roughly by the collar. The thief's hair was matted to his face and his left cheek was scratched and bloody from falling on the ground.

"You're really fast, Bluebell, but speed isn't always the key."

And, Jay didn't know why, but he couldn't help but smile.

* * *

 **Ayo! It's finally December! ah how I love the holiday season so _so_ _SO_ much! And agh, my birthday is in exactly a week! along with the Greatest Showman album! Best gift I could ever ask for! I am _SO_ dang excited for that movie - like, _REALLY_ excited.**

 **Anyways, I, glad you're all enjoying this! No question for today's chapter :))**


	6. A Bit of Tension

A flash of blue sped through the door and nearly toppled over Chief Garmadon's desk. He braced his hands on the desk and looked down, gasping for air.

Unamused, the Chief put his fingers to his forehead and massaged that area lightly, sighing. "Jay, when I said 'as soon as possible', I didn't mean, rush all the way here halfway dead."

"Dad, you know how Jay is," Lloyd said with a smirk.

The young man fell back into a seat, still catching his breath.

"Where is Cole?" He heard the Chief ask.

Jay's head popped up. "Cole?" Before Jay could say anymore, there was a loud sound of someone clearing their throat and everyone's attention turned to the door.

There stood Ronin, tab in his hand, and beside the con-man was the person of question. It was quite horrifying, as Cole had a snarl on his face, eyes glaring daggers at Ronin.

"Wait, he was with you?"

" _Yes, I'm with him_." Cole growled, pushing past Ronin roughly.

"Geez," the con-man muttered, his hat tipping forward.

Cole took a seat next to Jay, crossing his legs and arms, a grim expression. Garmadon raised a brow in question at his friend. "What were you doing out there, Ronin? I thought I told you to stay here with Nya and Zane."

"What? You did? Guess I didn't hear you, hahah. Anyways, here's the tab," he told him, placing the tab in the middle of the table. "Well, I gotta get back to the shop - those _rare items_ aren't gonna sell themselves, you know?"

The man started towards the door until Garmadon's cold voice stopped him dead in his tracks. "You, my friend, are staying right here."

"You really sure you don't need me?"

"Go find Nya and bring her in."

"Riiight. Sure then."

They all waited, their eyes following Ronin's every move, until he was out of the room for good. Finally, Garmadon turned to both Jay and Cole and urged for them to scoot their chairs closer. The two of them hesitated for a minute, then willingly agreed and inched closer till the Chief had told them to stop moving forward.

"So Jay, Lloyd's been telling me how he's been giving you responsibility for keeping Cole in check."

"Yeah, it's totally unfair by the way."

Garmadon laughed, a smile on his face, "I can imagine. How's that going for you?"

"Uh, hah, shouldn't you be asking me that when Cole _isn't_ in the same room as us?" He asked, biting the inside of his cheek nervously.

"You don't mind, do you, Cole?"

"Nope. Besides, I wanna hear what the Bluebell has to say."

Jay swallowed, running a hand over his clothed knee. He cast a glance at Cole, realizing he needed to form his thoughts carefully.

"I don't mind," he hurriedly said.

Lloyd face-palmed.

"Come _on_ , Jay, you wouldn't stop complaining about having to deal with him all the time." Lloyd flinched when Cole popped a bubble - he didn't even notice that the other had gum in his mouth.

"Shut up, Lloyd." Jay wrinkled his nose and peered at Lloyd. His friend covered his mouth to hold back from laughing.

"He's actually quite funny-"

Jay froze as if he had been shot in the back suddenly. Slowly, the young man turned around, his eyes finding their way to Cole.

"What?"

Cole popped the gum once more. "I didn't say anything."

"Yeah, yeah you did. You said I was funny… in the good kind of way."

"Well -"

"Hey! Look who I found!" Ronin proclaimed from the entrance, Nya by his side.

"Cole?" The young lady breathed, a mix of fear and guilt grazing over her face. She took off her hat, staring speechless at Cole.

"Nya? What's she doing here?"

Garmadon pinched between his eyes and groaned softly. "Has _no one_ been listening to me today?"

"I've been listening, Sir," Jay said.

"Thank you, Jay. I _asked_ Ronin to bring her in. Nya would you please have a seat?"

The young lady glanced around, confusion striking her. She sat down as instructed. "What's going on?"

Garmadon slid the tab towards Nya, brows drawn in. "Ronin said you gave this to him whenever he needed to reach you two. This morning, he was able to talk to your brother."

Nya took in a sharp breath, her stomach twisting. "No… he's dead… right…?"

"He is very much alive, Nya, and Ronin heard someone else's voice when he was talking to Kai. We were hoping, maybe you could talk to him for us?"

"Me? What if it doesn't work?"

"Don't doubt yourself, Miss Smith. Would you like to be in private when you talk?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

"Great. Ronin, could you help me turn this on?"

"Sure thing, Chief!"

While Ronin was assisting Garmadon in reaching Kai, Nya looked from Jay to Cole, and leaned over to talk to him. The former fugitive was facing away from Nya, his arms folded across his chest.

"How've you been?"

"Your _brother_ shot me in the foot and _left_ me." He said, his voice dark.

Jay heard the two of them and gazed their way, sensing the tension between them. He clutched the end of his coat tightly and hoped they wouldn't start any kind of drama.

Nya bowed her head. "He didn't mean that…"

"Didn't mean that? I'm not the first person he's done that to, Nya. You acted like I was just some kind of _pawn_."

"Cole, I was there, we did what we had to."

Jay heard a loud screech and he looked up to see Cole holding Nya by the arm with a rage in his eyes. It all happened so fast. One minute, the two of them were having a serious talk, almost scary, and the next, the two of them had already gotten physical.

Cole had pushed back his chair forcefully and stood up, his metal hand latched onto Nya's arm, pulling her out of her seat. "Did what you had to? I was sent to prison for _eight_ months!"

Jay's eyes drifted to Cole's arm, the blue lights blinking bright. "Cole… your arm… the lights…"

But Cole ignored him. The only thing he focused on was the image of Nya in front of him, a burning passion in him. The young lady's face was drawn with dread, worry, and _pain_.

In a matter of seconds, Ronin stepped between them and pried the two of them apart, holding his arms at a distance.

Garmadon stood up from his desk and held the tab firmly between his hands. "Enough! Cole, you _must_ be careful, especially with that arm." He looked to Jay. "I think you two can leave now."

"Yes, Sir," Jay responded, heading outside while Cole followed behind, grasping his metallic arm.

Lloyd closed the door. "Now what?" He asked. His father let out a frustrated sigh and fiddled with the tab some more. "Cole was supposed to talk to Kai too, wasn't he?"

"Yes, Son, but he can't - just not anymore." He held the tab out to Nya. "We almost got it, you can take the rest from here." He motioned for Ronin and Lloyd to follow him outside. "We'll give you some space."

Nya, who was still rubbing the area from which Cole's metal hand had grasped, took the tab from Garmadon and seated herself once more. She waited till everyone else was out of the clear and turned on the tab, calling Kai.

It was a few minutes before Kai finally picked up and Nya felt herself fill with relief.

"Kai!"

"Sis? What are you doing? This is Ronin's tab - are you with Ronin?"

Nya grinned. "I was. I'm talking to you from the Ninjago Police Department. In Chief Garmadon's office."

"Oh, well then that's perfect! No one's found out anything yet, right?"

Nya shook her head glumly. "Kai, you didn't tell me you would reveal yourself to the public."

"The plans have changed a bit, Sis. And it's not the entirety of the public that knows I'm alive - just Lloyd and several others, right?"

Nya drew in a shaky breath. "Kai, that's not the point. What exactly are you planning to do from here? How does revealing you're alive up our plan up much more?"

"Seeing you put Cole on the edge, didn't it? Just you wait, Sis. I know exactly what I'm doing."

"I hope you do." Her muscles tensed when she heard a knock on the door.

"Nya, are you almost done?" She heard Lloyd ask.

"Just a few more minutes!" Nya yelled back, she turned her attention back to the screen. "Kai, I don't have much time. Is there any place we can meet?"

"Borg Street, the coffee shop."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, see ya Sis!"

End.

Nya fell back into her seat when the call ended, millions of thoughts swarming through her head. She ran her fingers against the edge of her cap, chewing on her bottom lip. _Kai, Kai,_ Kai… she thought, confused.

"Oh, you can come in now!" She yelled, hoping they heard her.

The door creaked open and Lloyd poked his head in, glancing around the room with big eyes. When he saw that everything looked the same as before, he stepped in, breathing out in relief.

"I never knew how a tab works, so I guess something would've exploded or something," he told her, nervously grinning.

"It's similar to a regular tablet," she said in reply, stepping away from the table. "May I leave now, Sir?"

Garmadon shook his head. "Not quite yet. What did he say, Nya?"

"What did you want me to ask him?"

"Nothing in particular, but did he say anything that seemed odd? Or did something happen that was odd? Like the voice."

"No, Sir," she lied, "No voice. All he told me was that he was fine."

"But why did he fake his death? Do you know Nya? Did he say anything about it?"

"Nothing, Sir. I'm sorry."

Garmadon ran his hand over the side of his face and rolled his head back, disappointed. "Maybe another time, Miss Smith. You may go now, thank you."

As soon as Nya was out of sight, both Lloyd and Ronin turned to Garmadon sharply.

"I don't believe her. She's hiding something."

"Your son's right, Chief. What do we do now?"

"I'll… try and think of something… but we can't do anything about it now. I have a feeling she knows."

"Of course she knows," Ronin commented. "So are you going to hang on to that?" He pointed to the tab.

"Yes, I will. However, if any of you see anything else suspicious, tell me right away."

"You got it, Chief."

* * *

Outside of the Police Department, Jay would cast occasional glances to Cole, still thinking about what had gone down inside.

"Your arm - it was blinking back there. What's that mean?"

Cole perked a brow and tilted his head to the other. "It does that whenever I get angry… or basically anytime I start to just lose it."

The dark haired teenager leaned against the wall, a hand diving straight for his pockets.

Jay knitted his brows in concern. "Lose it…" he shook his head and spotted a bakery not far from where they were. Without thinking, he reached for Cole's free hand and clutched it tightly, a grin spreading on his face.

"How about some ice cream? Or cake? That stuff always makes me feel better."

"Yeah… I like cake."

* * *

 **AYO I'm SO HAPPY cause the Greatest Showman album came out last night and the songs are SO AMAZING! I had pre-ordered it a week earlier and when I got the notification, I think I screamed - ya, I did, not kidding XD**

 **And Ah, the premiere was today! It ended about an hour ago - a floating premiere, on my birthday, ah! Why didn't you guys invite me? XP Side note, I got a beautiful Moana Mug I've always wanted (I have way too much Moana stuff it's not funny)**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Question for day: Y'all excited for Winter Break?**


	7. I Think I Need a Little Change

**A chapter on Wednesday instead of Friday, woah - well, I really liked this chapter so I wanted to share it early (haha yes that chapter is a Steven Universe reference) - and mostly because I'm going to be packed with making holiday cards for my teachers and friends :))**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

 **December 15th. Six years ago.**

"I'm Gayle, coming to you live from the corner of Palace Way where a very violent event has appeared to have gone down. The masked criminal has been caught but the life of twelve-year old, Cole Brookstone, was _severely_ injured in the fight, the criminal, slicing the young boy's right arm off _clean_. Medics are pulling him away as we speak while it looks like our very own, Chief Garmadon, has appeared to be left frantic and in tears…"

A burning window store sent sparks of ash and fire into the air, smog covering a decent part of the city. Police cars were crowded around the location, as were fire trucks and many ambulances.

"Hurry! We need to get him back stat."

The woman's eyes drifted to the bloody patch to the right of Cole where his arm should've been. "He's losing a lot of blood, Sir!"

The man on the opposite side hovered over Cole saying, "Listen to me; stay with us, buddy. We're going to get you to a hospital, you understand? You're going to be fine."

Pain.

 _Pain_.

That was all he could feel.

He couldn't even tell where he was with all the blood loss.

One minute, he was face to face with a man so much more older than him, a mask over his face and a gun and a blade securely fastened along his belt.

And the next, he was lying on the ground, staring into the sky like some lifeless soul, his right arm sliced right off.

The 12-year old boy - tears streaming down his face - cocked his head on the pillow to the woman on his left. "Mom?" He croaked, his voice shaky with every breath he took.

The woman felt a pang in her chest and she cooed, tears glistening in her eyes. "Oh, sweetie, no, but you're going to be okay, okay? You understand me?"

Cole groaned in response, his eyes squeezing together in pain. "... I can't feel my arm…"

A hand firmly gripped the shoulder of the man who was in charge. "Please, let me ride to the hospital with him," a voice pleaded.

The lead of the medical unit turned around at the sudden touch. "Chief Garmadon, of course-"

"Chief Garmadon, we need you back at the station immediately." One of his men told him, coming up beside them.

"Have someone else take over for me. _Please_. Cole needs someone he knows and he knows me. He _needs_ me."

The policeman stood firm and nodded.

The moment Garmadon hopped into the back of the medical truck, he leaned forward, observing the young boy on the stretcher. A giant gauze was covering the _open wound_ where Cole's right shoulder used to be, the blood seeping through fast, turning the majority of the cloth into a pinkish red. How it pained him to see the boy this way, especially when he blamed himself for all of this tragedy. Garmadon felt the tears starting to mess with his vision and he hurriedly wiped them away using his sleeve.

The boy's shoulder twitched and he curled his last five, fleshy, fingers, frowning. Sobs came forth, each one choking out of him. "I want…" Coles lips quivered, "I want to go home… home…" Cole said softly, a tightness in his voice, just before one of the men placed an oxygen mask over him.

"I know, I know." Garmadon grabbed Cole's hand and squeezed it tight in a comforting gesture. A part of him was thankful that Lloyd was sitting at home, just him, Uncle Wu, and Koko. "You're going to be okay, Cole. It's all going to be okay." A smile crept up his face when Cole squeezed back. His tensed muscles eased when he noticed Cole's breathing becoming more controlled.

"You were so brave, Cole. You were such a hero, you hear?"

* * *

 **In The Present**

The young brunette was standing at the other end of the table, his wrist in front of his chest as he scrolled through his techy watch. He was waiting for Cole to finish his breakfast, as the other had woken up later than he had.

Unlike the other days before, Cole dressed in something just slightly different. He still wore the typical bomber jacket with the same tear over his right arm and the same black cargo pants. However, this time, his hair was a little more lazy, hanging down in front of his face like the longest bangs Jay had ever witnessed, and his shirt, a navy blue with a single white stripe.

Looking up, Jay eyed the robot arm, noticing how faint the lights were. Quietly, he flicked his wrist to itch the skin and pulled up Cole's record, turning around so that Cole wouldn't be able to see through the hologram.

 **FILE: Cole Brookstone.**

 **Status: Alive.**

 **Age: 18.**

 **Sex: Male.**

 **Date of Birth: [Month. Day. Year] Dec. 15. 18.**

 **Parents: Deceased. Died on October 31st. Cause unknown.**

 **Run-away from family at the age of 12.**

 **Supposedly joined the Smith sibling's criminal group at the age of 17.**

 **Sent to prison on March 28th for 8 months.**

 **Released on the 28th of November into custody of Jay Walker and Lloyd Garmadon.**

Jay winced at the mention of his name. He then searched for Cole's hospital records.

 **Lost his right arm at the age of 12 on December 15th in an attack.**

Jay drew in a breath. Six years? He's had that arm for six years? Had it been on the news? Had he missed it? He - he remembered, he was watching. He saw everything, the trucks, the cars, the ambulances… he saw _Cole_ , twelve year old, Cole, lying on a stretcher as they heaved him into the back of the vehicle.

That was Cole?

 **Arm replaced by bionic limb.**

Suddenly, a video started to play all on its own -

" _This bionic arm is a ne-"_

Jay jumped, his back straightened as he struggled to turn it off. He whirled around to Cole's attention and stuffed his arm down low, covering the watch with his other hand.

"What was that?" Cole asked him, flicking his spoon in Jay's direction.

"N-News stuff…" Jay blurted, which wasn't entirely a lie. He bit the inside of his cheek, tapping his foot as he stared at Cole bluntly. "Heeeey," he sing-songed, sliding into a seat next to Cole. "Could I ask you something? Just a teeny tiny question? I know you hated it when I asked questions, especially about your arm, buuuuut…"

Cole took in a spoonful of cereal floating on the milk. " _One_ question."

"Yep. Got it." He said with a quick nod. "So, uh, why did your arm respond to your emotions?"

Cole's eyes widened, clearly hinting that he wasn't in the mood of answering a question like that. He put his forehead to the palm of his hand, feeling the cool metal press on his skin. He told Jay one question, and one question was exactly what Jay had asked. Frowning, he lowered his arm and curled the fingers of his replacement arm repeatedly before fisting his hand.

"It's a… it's a new piece of technology they were developing. Where your emotions tie to the part of your body replaced with a bionic. That part of the body responds and reacts to how it can be controlled… it's kind of like a monitor too. I was the first person to test it."

" _Were_ developing?"

 _One question. But this one's fine, I guess_. "I was the first and last person. They went back to just making regular bionic parts afterwards."

"Did something go wrong?"

Cole shut his eyes tightly. " _One question_. This is already your third, _Bluebell_."

"Fine, don't answer that." Jay stood up and stood away from Cole, turning on his watch. It projected a view of Cole's file, which Jay had nearly forgot he was still in the middle of reading. And thankfully, this time, the video did not play.

"I wanna show you something!" He said suddenly. Cole's brow perked up as he put the bowl in the sink.

"Come _on_! There's something you should see," Jay said to Cole, leading him to a room downstairs towards the back. He stopped and pulled out a key from his pocket before unlocking the door. "Lloyd's probably going to kill me for showing you this, but…" He pushed open the door.

Cole stared with awe.

A room with faint blue lights coming from either side, _filled_ with weapons and valuable artifacts which hung from the walls and were sitting on dusty shelves. To the right there was a full display of comics next to a blue lava lamp - Jay. And to Cole's left there sat a box full of books on fighting techniques and weaponry. At the very end of the room hung a board with ripped out papers, each one somehow related to Jay and Lloyd.

Jay intruded in his thoughts. "Lloyd and I were like, the second biggest heroes of the city. Well, actually, make that the _number one_ biggest heroes. Whenever Chief Garm couldn't make it in time, we'd be out there, kicking butt!" Jay flailed his hands in the air, mimicking that of a fight. "Most of the time, Garmadon would just call us straight to take care of things. I mean, we still do sort of do that… but crime's kind of been less and less since Kai and Nya went into hiding."

"Did you ever have to face Kai and Nya? Did you see them in person?"

"N-No… Lloyd handled those missions. I stayed behind." Jay frowned slightly.

"Hah, that explains why I'd never seen you before…" Cole ran a hand over one of the nunchucks on the wall.

Jay picked up a second pair of nunchucks from below Cole. He fancied his eyes over it. "Well, you can use anything in here if you ever need to. Especially with the whole Kai being alive and stuff case going on, heh."

Cole cocked a brow and tilted his head at the other. "Why are you showing me this?"

"W-Well, the other day you helped me catch a thief… and I just thought… why not?" Jay stepped a little closer to Cole, part of the reason to put the nunchucks back.

With a faint smirk, Cole's hand slid from the nunchucks and he turned to Jay. "I hardly even use weapons," he started, tugging on the dark grey kerchief around Jay's neck. Jay leaned forward, his face almost colliding with the bottom of Cole's chin. He looked up slowly. The corner of Cole's lips pulled up when their eyes met. "You know, my arm's actually pretty strong."

Cole blew a small bubble just an inch away from Jay's face.

"Y-Your bionic arm?"

"What else would I be talking about?"

Jay's vision fell on the arm and his jaw nearly dropped open. He had never seen it this close to him before. The lights were almost bright enough to blind him in a room this dim. He swallowed and was taken aback when Cole let go, knocking Jay back gently, with a smug grin on his face.

It was no surprise when Cole noticed the perplexed look on Jay's face, his cheeks unexpectedly a bright red. A small laughed left Cole and he fixed the kerchief around Jay's neck with a single hand - he gently brushed his fingers along the fabric.

"Thanks though, Bluebell. I'll be sure to keep what you said in mind."

Jay found himself too stunned to move. As soon as Cole left the room, he slowly raised a hand, gluing it to the side of his face as he stared dumbly at the floor.

Finally, he collected himself and forced his legs to take him to the door.

* * *

 **Borg Street. The Coffee Shop.**

Picking up the two, tall, paper cups, Nya brought them over to the table by the door, setting both steamy drinks on the polished surface. Both siblings wore baseball caps that were covering their faces just enough in hopes that no one would notice them, especially Kai. After all, his plan wasn't to expose his current status to the _entire_ world.

Her brother immediately wrapped a hand around the drink and pulled it closer to him, blowing over the small opening. "It's getting so cold outside," he said finally, lifting the cup to his lips after several blows.

"Tell me about it. It is almost winter," Nya noted and sat across her brother.

"So how's the whole thing going at the, you know, that job at the police station?"

Nya cupped both hands around the cup, looking down at the drink. She thought long and hard about the question and remembered Zane. "There's this really nice guy, his name is Zane -"

"He's not going to get in the way of any of our plans, is he?"

At first, Nya was startled that that was the first thing Kai had asked her, but later she shook her head, grinning. "I doubt it. By the way, how'd you know Cole was there with me before?"

"It's obvious that they'd try to get the two of you to talk to me. We used to work together, remember? Not to mention but, I checked Cole's files recently and he's under the custody of Lloyd and Jay? Weird since I've only seen Lloyd hanging out by himself lately." Kai cracked a laugh, rolling his eyes. "That Walker kid doesn't know what he's walking into."

The young woman found it odd that her brother had changed so much since she last remembered. He was suddenly acting more secretive and idle. Nya decided to play along, laughing awkwardly with Kai. She took a sip from her hot drink before asking, "Isn't there something you needed to tell me? I thought that was why we met in the first place."

"Right…" Kai said, holding out the _i_. Nya's stomach turned at the different tone of his voice - he sounded more worried.

"Kai?"

Her brother's voice suddenly lowered. "Nya, listen. It's - I don't know how else to say this because _he's_ listening."

" _He_? Kai what's -"

"I made a mistake, Nya. I made a deal with someone I shouldn't have several weeks after Cole's arrest; it's the reason why the plans have changed. I'm not in charge anymore, he is."

"So revealing you were alive to Lloyd, that wasn't your idea?"

"Nya, just please stop asking questions. I can't answer them anyways."

"You… can't…?" She murmured.

Kai stopped. He didn't say anymore. Then, he leaned back, pushing back the chair enough to get out. Coffee in hand, he gazed to his sister with a smug grin. "Sorry, but I gotta go. Kai's gotta work on the next part of his plan."

"Wait - Kai!" Nya shouted, hastily following Kai outside.

But when she stepped out of the cafe, her brother was already gone.

* * *

Nya was finally back in Zane's tiny apartment.

The day she gave herself up to the police, Zane offered her to stay at his place for the time being. For that one minute, it made Nya feel like she was just one of the regular guys, out to get a job and survive in the real world. She hadn't expected someone to offer up a free stay at their home for a criminal, or even a former criminal. And when Zane had brought that up, Nya began to regret most of the things she had done in the past.

The guy was just too nice and it _hurt_.

She gently opened Zane's door, poking her head in and spotted him already tucked under the covers, fast asleep. With a sigh, she closed the door leaving just a little bit of light shining through and made her way to her room - the guest room.

She took off her coat and tossed it on the bed before doing the same with her cap. That was when she heard the crunching sound of paper.

Stalking over to her jacket, she felt the pockets for anything strange and ran her fingers over the outline of a folded up paper. _Kai must've put it in there when I getting our drinks_ , she realized. After pulling it out, she unfolded it, squinting at the writing.

 _GOLDEN_ _ **MASTER**_

"Golden Master?" She paused for a brief moment, feeling the adrenaline course through.

"The Golden Master."

* * *

 **AHHH! One more week exactly till the Greatest Showman! (And gosh it's soundtrack is just AMAZING!) AND two more days till the Last Jedi and my winter break XP! Way too excited!**

 **And in case you were confuzzled or anything, that first part was indeed something that happened in the past. It says 'six years ago'. Also, his parents did die the same year he lost his arm. So they weren't around when the incident happened.**


	8. Taking Your Breath, Stealing Your Mind

"Hey, Jay," Lloyd started, sliding onto the couch beside his friend.

"What's up?"

"My Dad and Mr. Borg are hosting a kind of party this Friday."

"A party?! Cool! I mean -" Jay cleared his throat, "Mmhmm, yeah? Is there something else I should know?"

"Yeaaaah," Lloyd chuckled, scratching the back of his neck, "I do have one request, actually."

Jay rested his head in his hand and grinned at the blonde. "Well spit it out, Lloyd! You can't just expect me to sit here and read your mind." He shut his eyes tight. "I can try though!"

Lloyd laughed, knowing how much of a jokester Jay could be. "You're probably not going to like this, but would you mind helping Cole find something to wear?" Jay wrinkled his nose, earning a grunt from Lloyd. "You see what he wears, he can't just waltz into the party dressed like that! My Dad's expecting all of us to be nicely dressed, unfortunately," he sighed. "I mean, I know you have something to wear, and so do I, but…"

"So you want me to take Cole _shopping_?"

"Basically ya." Jay's lips formed a thin line. "Come on, Jay. It shouldn't be too hard. You go in, try on a couple of suits, buy it and you're out."

* * *

 **[December 12. Six years ago. Several hours after the attack.]**

"We've already completed the operation to replace his arm," one of the doctors told Garmadon, eyes skimming the clipboard in his hands. "Does the boy have any parents?"

"No," he said, "but you can leave whatever it is with my brother and I."

"Of course-" the doctor peeled off the top page and started to read off the second page. "Because of the age that he is at, we were able to create an arm that wouldn't need replacements as he grows older. The rest from there is that he can treat it like a regular arm. However, he does need to be careful with it."

"What do you mean by careful?"

"I was getting there, Chief. We replaced his arm with a new bionic limb we were making - and we came to the conclusion that Cole would be the perfect first patient."

Garmadon's brows drew near and he stared at the doctor as if he was joking. "You gave the kid a new kind of arm with new capabilities? Shouldn't you have just given him a simple, bionic limb? It doesn't need any of this _new_ technology."

"Actually, Sir, these were direct orders given by Cyrus Borg. And the good news is, this arm's new functions are very small."

Garmadon massaged between his eyes and sighed. " _Borg_ …" he hissed, "alright, Doctor, what can it do then?"

"It's very simple. The arm reacts to your emotions. Most especially anger - he can create some kind of death grip, if you may say."

"The boy is _twelve_ years old. He doesn't need a 'death grip'."

"Yet, he doesn't," came Borg's voice from behind the Chief. Garmadon flinched and stepped aside allowing Borg to wheel in in his wheelchair. "Thank you, Doctor," he said to the doctor, "you may leave now."

When he had fled the conversation, Borg faced Garmadon, then looked to Cole through the hospital room windows.

"Borg, what are you doing here?"

"The same reason you're here."

"I should've been there for him…" Garmadon shook his head in defeat.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Chief. We all wish we could have done something to help, but none of us knew the consequences."

"But if I had just left sooner, I could have helped him - I could have been there for him."

"Cole is a very brave and selfless boy, Chief. What he did, no other boy in Ninjago would've done at his age especially. I even believe that he could be of assistance to you and your men in the future. That's why I ordered for them to give Cole's arm these kinds of advancements."

Garmadon bit the inside of his cheek. "Is he the first one with this more _complicated_ bionic limb?"

"Yes. But I doubt he'll be the last."

* * *

Cole stirred in the hospital bed, his shoulders raising in response to the chilly room. Being quick to act, Garmadon leapt out of his chair and rushed to Cole's side. "Mm… Chief G?" The boy muttered softly.

The Chief released a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his cheeks. "How are you feeling, Cole?"

The boy winced slightly, trying to smile back at the officer.

"Horrible."

Garmadon chuckled.

Catching a glimpse of the black fingers, Cole tilted his head to the side, causing him to startle even more awake. He raised the forearm, examining it with awe and thought. His eyes drifted to his left hand and he held the two hands in front of them, positioned beside each other.

"This is so cool…" he awed.

"It is, isn't it?"

"Did they catch the bad guy?"

Another laugh from Garmadon. "Yes, yes they did, Cole." Cole dropped his head against the pillow, tired. Afraid that Cole would fall back asleep, he nudged him awake and quickly briefed him on the new arm. "Cole, one more thing - I know the arm looks cool, but you have to understand that this is a new piece of technology… just please be careful with it."

A cheeky grin pulled at his lips but it quickly deepened into a frown. "New technology? They've replaced many limbs before."

"No, not like that, Cole. They've added some advancements to your arm specifically so that it responds to your emotions. Promise me you'll be careful with it?"

It took awhile for the boy to process what Garmadon had told him. When he finally understood it all, he nodded at the Chief and smiled. "Promise."

* * *

 **Present Day**

Cole lay in thought staring at the ceiling, sprawled on his bed while his hand was holding onto his bionic arm. Every single day since the attack, Cole had never once stopped thinking about that day.

The lights.

The sirens.

The people.

The blood.

All of it.

He was so innocent at the time. And it wasn't till five years later when he met Kai and his sister, Nya.

"Be careful." Garmadon had told him. In fact, the man told him that all the time, and Cole still never listened. He just wanted to help people, but of course it all came with a cost - his arm.

He scoffed. Help people? He ended up living a life of crime and wrong for nearly three whole years - Cole sat up in bed and stretched his arms, gazing around the room silently. _Help people_ , he thought again, that was the reason he lost his arm in the first place. All his choices he made in the past, it led up to here. In a house. Not his house, but a house where he was still held under watch of two people.

Lloyd Garmadon… what did he think of the boy anyway? He had seen Lloyd most of the time from his cell and from the prison campus in general. He never even met Lloyd once when he was a kid, even though he was constantly sharing news with Chief Garmadon and his brother, Wu. He hardly even saw him _now_. When he was younger, Garmadon had brought up Lloyd's name every so often, but Cole hadn't cared much then. Lloyd was an okay guy. He knew the boy could stand Cole, but he also knew at this point, that Lloyd still wasn't up for keeping Cole in check, as he was always giving Jay the job to watch him.

Jay.

Jay Walker. Had he really been calling Jay, 'Bluebell' for the last several days? It didn't bother him, in all honesty, and Jay looked like he had gotten used to being called by that nickname. Anyhow, he found Jay to be amusing. He could tell the guy was having a hard time coming to a conclusion on how he felt about Cole. First introductions, Jay was shying away and feeling intimidated. Later, Jay had straight up hated Cole - and if he was being honest, he enjoyed ticking Jay off in the slightest ways. Soon, Jay had begun to open up more around him as if he was suddenly able to just act natural.

He turned his head to the door where he heard murmuring.

"-him? Yeah, I guess he really isn't so bad of a guy… but take him shopping?" A pause. Cole stood up and started to the door. "He's just playing with me, isn't he? - oh fudge knuckles. Come on, Jay. You can do it. Just -"

"Who are you talking to?"

"Wh-AH!" Jay jumped back. "N-no one. Who are _you_ talking to?"

"Um, you?"

With a shrug, Cole closed the door and stumbled back to bed.

Where was he? Oh, right, he was deciding on what he thought about Jay. Cole tapped his foot in the air and thought. After that little conversation, Cole concluded that not only was Jay funny and kinda cute, but he was also awkward.

A minute later there was a knock.

Cole growled. "Go away, Bluebell."

The door opened a crack and Jay poked his head in. Cole sighed. "What do you want?"

Jay opened the door wider and stepped inside, hands behind his back. "Um, well, Lloyd wants me to take you shopping?"

"Shopping? Is there something specific I need to get?"

"Yeaaaaaaah, he wants me to take you to buy you something… fancy. Like a suit, yanno?"

"And why do I need something fancy?"

"His Dad and Cyrus Borg are hosting a party this Friday, and Chief Garmadon is expecting us to be dressed nicely for the event. And I'm guessing that you don't have anything nice to wear other than that jacket and pants?"

Cole smirked, tucking his hands behind his head. "You are surprisingly correct."

* * *

Picking out a suit for Cole to try on wasn't easy, per say. If Jay had to guess, he could say they went through almost a dozen choices. Not to mention dress shoes were still waiting to be picked too. The guy felt more comfortable in his coat and cargo pants, and Jay could understand that. When they finally did find a suit Cole was willing to try, the line for the fitting rooms was scary long. Thankfully, people were moving fast and Cole reached a room in fifteen minutes exactly.

 _Gosh, I can't believe I'm waiting here. It just feels so awkward!_ Jay smacked the side of his head. _Pull it together, Jay - you're just here to help Cole find some nice clothes, yeah!_

"UGH!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. A hand clamped over his mouth the minute everyone's heads turned to him. His face flushed at the unwanted attention.

He heard the fitting room door open and his head turned to the source of the sound, his jaw dropping open.

The young man stepped out, hands on his hips as he flashed a look of dread at Jay. The black suit hugged his body nice and tight as well as the black slacks that went along. The sleeves were cuffed at the end as they left plenty of room for Cole's wrist to wiggle in, and a perfectly fitted, white, collared shirt was added underneath, matched with a navy blue tie.

Cole noticed Jay staring at him and stepped closer.

" _Wow_ -" how the heck? "-you look _amazing_ …" Jay breathed silently.

As if he hadn't heard Jay's comment, Cole went about tugging at the suit. "It's extremely uncomfortable - do I have to wear this?"

"I - uh - ahem," Jay cleared his throat, words tied in a knot. "Walk around a bit - how's that feel?"

With a heavy sigh, Cole did as Jay had asked, keeping his hands to his sides. Still, the dark haired teenager looked unamused and was constantly tugging at the suit. Lost in a daze, Jay continued to stare at the fitting rooms, where Cole previously was, with his jaw still hanging open.

"Maybe something a little less tighter?" Cole asked from beside Jay, startling him.

"H-Here," Jay started, lifting his hands, "Lemme try and loosen it a bit." He pinched the collar of the white shirt between his fingers before tugging at it in attempt to relieve the pressure. His tongue stuck out to the side and one eye was closed as he fixed the position of the collar.

"You going to get anything, Bluebell?" Cole asked him.

Jay shrugged, next fixing the tie. He leaned back and grimaced at his work. "I, um. I already have something to wear."

"You do?"

"It's a, it's a suit that I've had for a while. Something my parents got for me. By the way, how's it feel now? I know I've been asking that a lot, but I'm really hungry." He defended.

Cole stood up and began to walk around, relaxing his arms a bit more. "Feels much better."

* * *

Nya, with a sling bag, and Zane, holding a binder, had made it to the Police Department for work. Nya followed Zane inside, tapping her hand against her bag gently.

The note her brother had left her last night scared her. She needed to tell someone and she needed help.

Her first decision, however, wasn't to tell the Chief or anyone closely associated with the NPD about it. At least, now just wasn't the right time. She wanted to keep it on the down low, just between her and someone else. Bringing in the big guns would be her final option.

Just before lunch break, when she finished gathering papers for another officer, she noticed Ronin standing by the filing shelves.

She made her way to him slowly. "Ronin? What are you doing here?"

The man had his arms folded across his chest and a stick of chocolate in his mouth. "Chief Garmadon told me to hang around in case he needed me or anything."

"Has he come up with a plan to contact Kai again?"

"Sort of. He thinks that Kai may show up at the party on Friday."

 _Right, everyone's been talking about the party._ Nya shrugged her shoulders with a scoff. "Oh, I bet he'll be there."

"You positively sure?"

She raised a hand when she saw Zane coming in from behind. "Hold that thought, Ronin." As Zane neared, she curled her fingers around his wrist and pulled him away from the con-man. Once they were somewhere private, she asked, "Zane what do you know about the Golden Master?"

Zane was surprised. "The Golden Master? Nya, they are a very dangerous group."

"I know that, Zane. Everyone does. But what else do you know about them?"

"Their leader, he goes by the name the Overlord, he's manipulative and shows no mercy."

Nya's head perked up. "Manipulative, you say?"

"Nya, is something wrong?"

"Zane, you have to help me. I think my brother must have somehow affiliated himself with the Overlord or someone from that band of villains… something's terribly wrong, Zane." She pulled out the crumpled piece of paper her brother had left him and put it on the table in front of him. "He left me this…"

Zane gasped. "Did you tell the Chief about any of this?"

"No… I - just keep it a secret between the two of us for now. Please?" Zane hesitated. "I know where Kai's been hiding out and I have a good feeling he'll be at the party on Friday - we can start then? Investigating, but no one else can know. Okay?"

"The party hosted by Chief Garmadon? What reason would he go there for?"

"If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say for Cole."

* * *

 **uMMM saw _the Greatest Showman_ yesterday, opening day, and I absolutely _LOVED IT_?! It just has a special something that makes me love it so much gAH. Definitely tied with Moana for my top favorite movie(s). Gosh, musical [theatre] fans _go out and watch this_. Seriously. WoW. Side note that the pacing and set up of this movie is very similar to some Broadway Shows - especially Dear Evan Hansen (since that's the one I've seen on Broadway).**

 **Anyways, hope you're all having a lovely winter break and a happy holidays to everyone! Christmas is in less than a week y'all!**

 **Also, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! (If I don't post again before the new year but I think I have one more week XP)**


	9. Mamma Mia!

**Okay well heads up, this chapter is longer than what I normally type! A lot of stuff going on in here so _dream with your eyes wide open_! XD I mean _read_ with your eyes wide open. I call it _, the Greatest Showman Fever._**

 **Anyways, enjoy, my friends!**

* * *

 **Friday. December 7th.**

Chief Garmadon had just finished refilling his punch when he noticed his two employees not too far away from him.

"Nya, Zane, so glad you could join us."

"Are you sure that Kai will be here?" Zane asked the Chief.

"Are you doubting your boss?" Garmadon tilted his head up and eyed Zane with suspicion.

Zane's muscles tensed. Nya raised a hand to cover her mouth, holding in her laughter. "Um, no, Sir."

Garmadon put a hand on Zane's shoulder. "I'm just joking, Zane. I did some research into Kai's files and I do believe he will be here. Besides, Miss Smith seems to think so as well."

Nya, on the other hand, was not listening as she plotted what she would say to Kai when she found him again. "Huh? Oh. Yeah."

"Anyways, I should get back to Lloyd. He's been looking forward to this party since I brought it up. By the way, try the punch, it's great!"

On the way back to his son and wife, Garmadon noticed Cole standing by the bleachers from the corner of his eyes. The young man was staring at the majority of the people in the center of the room with an empty look in his eyes. With a heavy sigh, the Chief took a detour and made his way to the isolated teenager.

"Are you not enjoying the party?" He asked, stepping into Cole's view. The boy didn't answer but instead turned his head the other way. Garmadon saw this coming - of course Cole would act this way at the time of the party. It was a shame he wasn't enjoying it, and it was a shame that he wasn't mingling with anyone. Having someone to talk to would at least make the time more bearable.

"Remember the time when you and my brother played that prank on me at the coffee shop? Ah, I miss those old times, don't you?" His brows drew nearer when the former fugitive hunched some more. "I wish I had you and Lloyd meet. I'm sorry that never happened… I kept it a secret from him as well."

He noticed Cole flinch.

"Thank you, Cole, for not being too troublesome for Jay and Lloyd. Most especially Jay." A smile curled on his lips. "I remember when you were such a troublemaker yourself nearly seven, eight, years ago."

Cole cast a glance at Garmadon, still unresponsive.

Garmadon sighed once more and proceeded to leave. "If you aren't having fun, it's okay, but why not go and talk to someone? It'll lighten the mood."

Cole's arms relaxed by his sides when Garmadon's footsteps were becoming distant. The Chief had always been there for him when he was little - not just after he ran away, but also many times before that. Suddenly-

"Chief G-"

Surprisingly, the Chief heard Cole and he turned around with a brow raised high. And though he knew his eyes were deceiving him, he still thought it all to be true when he saw Cole as his former 12 year old self once more. Cole steadily walked up to him looking remorseful. He embraced the Chief in a tight hug and he suddenly felt like his younger self again. Back when there was no big danger. Back when he didn't have this bionic arm.

"Thank you."

Chief Garmadon blinked. "Thank you for what?"

"For believing in me."

* * *

Nya handed a cup of punch to Zane, then taking a swig of her punch. "Wow, Chief Garmadon was right!"

Zane brought the cup away from his lips. "Most certainly, this punch is amazing!"

"Alright, enough chit chat about the punch. Time to focus! Zane, do you see Kai anywhere?" Zane opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a:

"What are you two doing?"

With a scream, Nya spun around, wide-eyed and surprised at the presence of Lloyd Garmadon.

"We're just chatting. You?"

Lloyd poured some more punch into his cup. "Helping out my Dad as an extra pair of eyes. You two haven't seen Kai anywhere, have you?"

The two others skimmed the room one last time and shook their heads.

"If we did, we'd probably have brought him somewhere to interrogate-"

Nya elbowed Zane hard.

"Oh. Whoops. Sorry." Zane grinned sheepishly at Lloyd and Nya.

"Zane's just a little… fever… ish."

Lloyd tilted his head to the side. "Were you two trying to…" He gasped. "You do know that Kai could have troubled himself with something _or_ someone huge? This could be a big deal, and I - well, and my Dad, too, don't want you guys messing around when this is _our_ job."

"Lloyd, Kai is my brother. Of course I have to do something about it." She let out a breath and looked up at Lloyd. "I'm going to be honest with you: I wasn't entirely done with crime. Kai and I had this whole other plot, and that's why he faked his death - but once he showed himself to you, I knew that something was _wrong_. He's become more distant and… vague. It doesn't feel like Kai to me."

"People change, Nya. Your own brother making a twist, especially to you, isn't a surprise to me. He's used many people, Cole included."

"Yeah, but I know my own brother, Lloyd. This is not Kai."

"And what makes you say that, ey?"

Zane exchanged a worried look with Nya and when the young lady nodded, Zane pulled out the slip of paper Kai had left her. Lloyd snatched it out of Zane's hand and read over it.

"The Golden Master… Nya this the most dangerous… murderous groups in Ninjago!" He lowered his hand as Nya tried to take the paper back. "When, where, _how_ did you get this?"

"I think Kai must've left it for me when I met with him at the café on Borg Street. He was acting suspicious there…"

Silence dawned upon them and Nya felt her stomach sink when she saw the concerned look on Lloyd's face. Finally, he waved the paper in her face with a shake of his head.

"Nya. I won't allow you and Zane to get involved with all this business on Kai," he told her with a sharp tone.

Nya glared at Lloyd as he walked away. She wanted to do this. She needed to do this. If she could save her brother, then she had to take the chance. She was determined to do anything to help. Bringing her hands up to cup around her mouth, she took a deep breath and:

" _Hey. Lloyd_!" She shouted.

The son of the Chief stopped and Nya saw his shoulder twitch. With fists clenched, she marched towards Lloyd.

"Leave it to my Dad, Nya." He drawled.

"You _need_ me."

"Oh, yeah? Give me one good reason."

Nya spun Lloyd around, forcing the young man to look her in the eyes. "If anyone can get you closer to him, it's _me_."

"Tried that once, didn't happen. Remember?"

Nya rolled her eyes. "I know you knew I wasn't telling the truth. _Now_ I know what we're up against. Come on, Lloyd - if we work together, we have a better shot at anything."

Lloyd glanced over his shoulder and saw Zane agreeing with her.

"Where's my Dad when I need him?"

* * *

Jay finished pouring the punch into his cup and twirled around, the cup at his lips as he surveyed the room. People all over were mingling and laughing, causing Jay to envy them because of how much fun they were having unlike him. He hardly knew anyone here at the party - the only people he did know were Lloyd and Cole - the people he came here to begin with.

Jay spotted his friend on the left of the room as he just exited the restrooms.

He finally emptied all the punch in his cup and frowned at the empty sight, immediately rushing back for more.

From across the room, he caught a view of his other 'friend' and new roommate. The young man stood by the bleachers with his arms folded across his chest as usual, leaning against the wall while his eyes grazed over the room, looking just as lonely and miserable as Jay was. Jay wondered if Cole had snuck gum into the party.

He considered sliding his way over to make himself not look like a lonely loser. Though, the majority of the voices in his head were telling him not to.

It wasn't just that day he had to take Cole to find formal attire for the party, but yesterday had been a total bust as well. It was like Cole was playing with him. No, wait, not Cole himself… just _Cole_. And he was afraid that if he went over, he would start tripping over his own feet once more.

Shooing away the thoughts, he gathered himself, grabbed another cup filled with punch and carried it over to Cole.

"Hey," Jay said, positioning himself beside Cole.

Cole took a quick glance at Jay. "Hi."

The blue eyed teenager nudged Cole's arm playfully and he quickly regretted it; one, because it was the metal limb and two, because he was fully aware that he wasn't exactly friends with Cole, which made the friendly gesture seem a little out of place. At least, that's what he thought. "You're looking awfully bored." He noted, rubbing his elbow. "It's a party! Come on, enjoy it!"

"You're just a chalk full of energy, aren't you?" Cole frowned at all the people mingling and laughing. "That's because I am bored, dummy."

Jay rolled his eyes and allowed himself to fall back against the bleachers. "You're no fun."

The music transitioned into another song and Jay eventually found himself struggling to avoid making eye contact with Cole. It was awkward enough when he came over to Cole, but now, it was even more awkward that the two of them were just standing there without a single peep.

He cleared his throat and finally said something, still staring at the ground. "Soooo… how long have you been standing here?"

Cole blinked and looked to Jay, hair falling over his eyes. "Long enough." He brushed the hair away and waved a finger at the crowd. "Shouldn't you be out there… doing… stuff?"

"Pftt, I could ask you the same."

Cole didn't give a verbal response, but instead, his eyes wandered to the punch in Jay's hands.

Jay noticed this and his eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, I brought you some punch!" He held the cup up to Cole. When Cole didn't reach for it, Jay cracked a fake grin and said, "it's okay if you don't want any. I just tho-" he was abruptly cut off when the other tore the drink away from his hand.

"Thanks," Cole said quickly before taking a sip.

"No prob, Bob." The two of them couldn't refrain from laughing.

Jay brought the cup to his lips, his mind lingering on the possibilities of conversation starters.

 _Maybe a compliment?_

"You know, you look great," he told him, an emphasis on 'great'. Cole raised a brow at Jay. "I - I mean, the suit fits you nicely…. er, you look nice. With the suit. And all. Yeah." Jay's face reddened when Cole erupted into laughter.

"You too, Bluebell."

"You really think so?" Jay fancied his eyes over his suit. "Liiiike how nice, exactly?"

"Don't push it."

* * *

"So then I told Ronin to just can it and take it with him to - Lloyd! There you are!" Garmadon moved closer to Lloyd with his arms outstretched as he pulled his son in for a hug. "I came back but you weren't here. Where did you go off to?"

"Hi, Mr. Borg!" Lloyd waved to the man in the wheelchair.

"Hello, Lloyd! It's good to see you again," he gave Lloyd a hearty smile.

"It's nice to see you again, too," he said as he turned to his father. "I was in the bathroom, actually. Then I went to grab some punch. It's really good by the way."

His father raised both brows. "That's what I've been saying!"

Borg clenched his jaw. "I refuse to have anything made by Dareth."

The Garmadon family erupted into laughter while Borg glared, unamused.

"Say, Dad, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?"

"Of course, Son." Garmadon led Lloyd away from the others. When they were out of earshot of everyone else, he asked, "What do you need?"

"Dad, you aren't going to like this, but Nya and Zane are helping us on Kai's case."

Garmadon's heart nearly stopped and he steered Lloyd by the shoulders into somewhere more isolated.

"Lloyd, this _isn't_ the time for jokes. You know how serious this case is."

"Well it might be a little bigger than that."

"What. What do you mean?"

Lloyd took out the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to his father.

"This _isn't funny_ , Lloyd," Garmadon hissed after reading.

"I'm _not_ trying to make a joke out of it or anything! This is serious, Dad! Nya thinks he might have involved himself with the group _somehow_."

"Son, the Golden Master is unforgiving and ruthless. I can't let innocent people like Zane get themselves hurt in this case!"

"But Nya can help us! The more people, the more chance we have at anything!" He panicked when his father turned around and started back to his wife as Borg. "Dad, please! They can help us! We can do this together -"

"I will not allow this, Son! I would never be able to live with myself if they got their hands on you or someone innocent. Not again…" He added that last part silently.

Lloyd reached out to his father, worry in his eyes. "Not again? What do you mean…?"

Lloyd tried to follow his father's gaze and found he was staring at nothing else but the roof over their heads. He stepped closer when he noticed the fear displayed all over Garmadon's face, a hand reached out. At last, the Chief collected his thoughts and spoke to Lloyd, his voice tight. "Do you remember that day when I wouldn't let you come with me to the scene of the attack? The attack where a boy lost his arm?"

The young man simply nodded. "You, you mean Cole?"

"He could have _died_ , Lloyd. That man could have killed Cole if he wanted to. I was lucky enough that he didn't…"

Lloyd's mind was scrambling as his Dad fed him with all this new information. "But you said it was just some crook… who would _kill_ a boy?"

"I told you, the Golden Master is unforgiving and ruthless, they show no mercy and would do anything beyond a regular crook."

"But he _was_ a crook-"

"No, Son, he was a member of the Golden Master." Lloyd stepped back, his eyes wide. "The information was too risky so Borg came to the decision to keep it hidden and we never told anyone else. Not even Cole."

"Even you're own Son? You didn't think that maybe when I grew older that you could tell me something like this? Jay and I worked alongside you, information like this could've been of use."

"There are just some things that we need to keep other people away from. You must understand that, Lloyd."

Lloyd furrowed his brows and he backed away from his father. "'Some things', huh? So there's how many other things you aren't telling me? I'm a hero on my own, I shouldn't have told you about Nya and Zane and should have just kept it to myself; because like you said, some things are best kept hidden."

Garmadon ordered for Lloyd to return to Borg and his mother, but he didn't listen. "Lloyd you are not dragging those two into this, you understand?"

"Sorry, Dad, but I need to go find Nya and Zane."

"Son, come back he-"

"It's Kai!" Nya came between the two of them, looking out of breath. She looked from Lloyd to the Chief. "We spotted Kai. He's here."

The Chief turned away sharply and ran up to Zane. "Show me." Zane agreed and led Garmadon away, Lloyd and Nya following closely behind.

* * *

"And then Lloyd crashed into the tree! Can you believe that?"

Cole was having a hard time containing his laughter. "Honestly, I thought you would've been the one to crash into a tree."

"I know right!"

Jay wiped a tear and focused on Cole, the biggest grin on his face. It had taken a while but the two of them had finally talked to each other as if they had always been comfortable with one another's presence. He suddenly felt as if he had known Cole for longer than two weeks - not as long as a year though, but Jay finally got underneath that mysterious shell of his. And not to mention, Cole looked to be having a great time. Normally, whenever Cole was laughing, it felt different, and it was usually _at_ him. However now, Cole was laughing with him and he had on the most genuine smile.

"Hey, thanks for getting more punch, by the way." Cole said to him.

The brunette gasped. "Was that a thank you?"

"Very funny, Bluebell."

Jay snorted. "You're very welcome."

Suddenly, the lights dimmed, a soft purple glow overlaying each person in the room. Jay's mouth was agape as the room fell silent. People had begun to pair up and the party had soon become a ballroom as pairs were dancing through.

It didn't occur to him that Cole had taken his drink and set it down at the top of the bleachers beside his own drink. So when he did notice that his punch was gone, he looked to Cole, who pointed at the top of the bleachers.

"Oh - um, heh." Jay cracked a lopsided grin. His eyes drifted to where Lloyd was on the other side of the room. Though his friend was no longer there, Koko was dancing with Borg in her own way, knowing the Chief wouldn't mind.

Cole silently tapped his foot against the floor, his head facing away from Jay. There was a silence between the two and Jay was beginning to realize that he had put himself in an awkward position. Suddenly, Cole cleared his throat and turned to Jay. "Wanna dance? Everyone else is doing it." Cole asked him, motioning to the crowd.

Jay was taken by surprise at Cole's request and his shoulders came up till they were touching his ears.

"Dancing isn't really my thing," he lied.

The young man pursed his lips at Jay's attempt to avoid from any dancing. "You sure about that? You did tell me that you and Lloyd won in a dancing competition against a friend of yours. Skylor?"

Jay's cheeks reddened and he rolled his shoulders. "Eheh, that's different."

"How's that any different?" Cole latched his hand around Jay's and pulled him away from the bleachers, closer to him. "Just one dance," he insisted.

Jay bit the inside of his cheek and tore his hand away from Cole, walking away. Determined, Cole moved quickly after Jay and continued to reach for him. Jay's eyebrows huddled closer the more he continued to dodge away from Cole, until they were nearly touching each other.

When the former fugitive finally got him, Jay sneered.

" _Cole_."

At last, Cole had snatched Jay's wrist in a firm manner and he whirled the brunette around to face him. He pulled Jay closer and smiled fondly as Jay stared at him, a bewildered expression crossing his face. Cole gently moved his left hand on top of Jay's shoulder earning a peep from the younger one. "It's easy - just one step forward, then right, back, then left and -"

"I know how to dance, Cole." Jay stated bluntly.

"Then why'd you try and lie to me earlier?"

"I just didn't want to dance…" _with you_ , he added in his head.

A smirk flickered across Cole's face and he moved with Jay to the right. "It's a party. Enjoy it."

Needless to say, he was enjoying it. He was actually _surprised_ that he was enjoying it.

Jay's head shied away when he felt another gentle smile warming up on him.

"You're pretty good at this, Bluebell," Cole whispered into his ear. Jay remained silent, the smile on his face however wider than before.

"You're not so bad yourself," Jay said in response.

As they danced, Cole caught a glimpse of grey under Jay's white shirt. The brunette's head perked up when a chuckle left Cole.

"So, what's that you got under there?"

Jay's face flushed and he looked down at the visible part of the kerchief. "N-Nothing. Okay, fine, I really like to wear it. Not to mention-" he lifted his left forearm slightly and flashed the watch at Cole.

"I thought we were supposed to dress formal, Bluebell."

A sly smile swept across Jay's cheeks. "Yeah well, doesn't hurt to bend the rules just a bit, riiight?"

"Ooh, such a rebel!" Cole snickered and Jay joined him.

During the time, the lights were swaying over the dance floor, grazing over each person and creating a lighter atmosphere. And the minute the light dawned upon Cole, Jay breathed in awe.

He let out a quiet sigh and leaned forward a bit till his forehead was pressed against Cole's chest. "You ever feel like… like sometimes you just can't decide how you feel about someone and you hate them, but… it just _feels_ like you don't like them but really you sorta _don't_?"

Cole raised an eyebrow.

"That was probably random… um… and confusing. I've just been kinda, er, feeling this way lately and, eh heh heh… it's," Jay coughed and drew his head back, "erhm. Pretend you didn't hear anything. I'm just ramb-"

"Bo- _ring_ ," Cole sing-songed, silencing the brunette. Jay huffed at the action. "Alright, Bluebell, you talk too much _and_ I didn't ask for you to get all sappy with me. Save it for some other time, okay? But for now, just _shut up_ and _dance_."

And well, they did.

It went for about a good, solid, ten minutes of peaceful and teasingless dancing.

Their eyes met then and Jay couldn't find a reason to look away. He moved his body closer, left cheek puffed out and his eyes never straying away. He wondered what Cole was up to when a cocky grin crossed his face and he finally knew when a foot kicked him in the leg, just hard enough for Jay to wince and cry, "Ow - ouchie. That hurt. A little."

Cole held back a laugh. "What you get for lying to me."

"Really?" Jay whined.

Another good ten minutes and they danced again with quiet thoughts and fond smiles.

At some point during their dance, Jay had dropped his head back against Cole's chest, closing his eyes and growing very tired. Cole had minded, of course, but Jay had decided to be uncooperative and remain that way, so Cole figured he'd just have to deal with it.

Then Cole's eyes caught something recognizable in the distance. His concentration on Jay and the dance was slipping away and he started to move slower.

Jay quickly took notice and lifted his head, tired eyes searching all around. "Cole? You okay… You're drifting off a bit. Uh…"

"Kai…" His hands fell from Jay's shoulders and he swiftly moved through the crowd, eyeing Kai's back.

"Cole?" Jay stumbled against the wall.

At first, Cole thought he had lost the thief when the lights had dimmed even more, but the spiky hair wasn't something that could hide away easily. He followed Kai all the way till he reached the punch table.

At last, Cole was close enough to grab Kai's wrist roughly with his metal fingers and yank the auburn haired teenager closer him. The thief turned his head around slowly with a half smile on his face and a cup of punch in hand.

"Cole! Buddy, how's it been?"

Kai drank, an innocent look in his eyes as he stared into Cole's. "Don't ask me how it's been, Kai. What are you up to?"

"Are you working with the good guys now?" Kai pretended to act surprised.

The other growled in response. "Why did you fake your death?"

"You know that Jay Walker kid? How is he? I saw you dancing with him," Kai shot Cole a smug look.

"Stop ignoring my questions, Kai!"

Cole was taken aback when the other raised a questionable brow at him. He dropped his drink into the bin next to him and firmly grabbed Cole's fleshed wrist, pulling him closer. With a growl, Cole yanked his bionic arm away and raised a fist at Kai. Before he could strike, the thief stopped Cole's fist from coming any further, wrapping his hand around Cole's in midair.

"Kai, what the hell, man? … Kai?"

Kai lowered his arm, bringing Cole's metal hand down along with it. He grimaced as he examined the arm.

"Still looks the same as I remember it." Kai flashed Cole a wicked grin. Cole inhaled sharply, continuing the struggle of breaking away from Kai. Suddenly, the lights on Cole's arm turned to a deep red. Kai quirked a brow at the change. "It's changing colors now?"

"Kai, let go-"

"I was going to stay longer, but it looks like the calvary is coming." Kai noted and curled his fingers around tighter. "Looks like I got enough of what I came here for anyways."

Cole was still furiously trying to pull away from the other. Kai, however, was holding on too tight that it was impossible for Cole to break away. It was only until Kai himself let go, sending Cole flying backwards.

A pair of arms caught him from behind and steadied him up.

"You okay, Cole?" Cole nodded slowly. "Where'd he go?" Lloyd asked him. Cole lifted his head and looked around.

"He got away." When Lloyd hurried past Cole he stumbled backwards against the wall. He rested his head back and closed his eyes, bringing his hands up along his arms as he hugged himself. Relief flooded through him when he noticed from the corner of his eyes that the lights on his arm returned to their default color of blue.

 _That's not supposed to happen_.

A small blur of blue was running towards him, pushing past anyone that stood in his way.

"Cole!" He shouted.

Jay knelt by his side, a hand on Cole's shoulder. "Cole, are you okay?"

"Yeah." He caught a flash of red in the distance where Lloyd and the rest of Garmadon's team had missed and his eyes narrowed in on Kai. " _I'm fine_."

* * *

 **Hah, aw man, I bought TWO Sons of Garmadon sets three days ago - the ones I was after originally - Killow v Samurai X and the Temple of Resurrection. Because they come with Jay and Cole X3 (I have a thing about collecting all the Jay and Cole minifigures) and the Temple comes with all the other main characters too, man they look awesome! So excited for Season 8!**

 **Forgot to mention that now you know about Cole and Garmadon's relationship, it makes the beginning make a lot more sense of why Cole was hesitant to shoot Chief Garmadon. :))**

 **Hope you're all having a lovely Winter Break! Sad it has to end so soon :') And I hope y'all had a nice Christmas too! If you celebrate it that is.**

 **Happy New Year!**


	10. Breaking Every Wall

**Wednesday update? Huh? Well I have finals coming up around the end of January which means it's almost the end of the semester too, so this month especially is going to be pretty booked! This means update schedules for this AU may be a bit funny - but hey, new chapter?! *whispers* There's a lot more action in this part.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Cole opened his eyes to black.

There was nothing around him but a dark emptiness. A flash of red sparked beneath him and he gazed down to see his metal arm tainted with red lights instead of blue. Cole screamed and staggered back, holding his arm out in front of him with his eyes wide with terror. Crumpling to the ground, he squeezed his eyes closed tightly while he gripped his metal arm firm.

"Blue… blue. You're supposed to be _blue_ , _dammit_." The eighteen year old continued to repeat said words with an uncertainty in his voice. " _Blue_. Blue… _Bluebell_ …"

He gasped softly when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Then came another hand to touch his other shoulder and Cole shuddered some more. Whoever it was, they began to rock him back and forth, calling his name over and over.

But Cole couldn't see them. Or at least not yet. He hastily shut both eyes again before opening them once more, allowing the darkness to flee.

"Cole-"

A voice said. _Lloyd's_ voice. To him it sounded echoey and far away and it made his head feel dizzy but the green-eyed boy kept repeating his name.

Cole raised a hand to his head and squinted at Lloyd until his vision was focused.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Lloyd asked him as his hands fell from Cole's arms.

There was a moment of silence as Cole tried to process the current event. His eyes wandered behind Lloyd and he spied Jay standing by the door with a look of concern drawn all over his freckled face.

"Trauma." He stated bluntly.

Lloyd cocked a brow. "Are you, are you sure?"

Cole ignored Lloyd's question and asked, "Are you going to see your dad today?"

"I wasn't planning to. Why?"

"I want to talk to him. It shouldn't be too long."

* * *

Kai made a sound of discomfort when he was thrown back into the boxed, sort of glass, room. Just as he made it to the opening, the man shut it with a snap of his fingers and Kai was closed in once more.

"So what, you're just going to keep me locked in here?!" Kai slammed his fist against the thick glass.

"Yes, that's the point."

Kai curled his fingers, his eyes following as the man walked to the other end of the room. Purple. That seemed to be a favorable color around here since the Overlord himself had a purple highlight in his dark black hair, and Pythor's head was covered with neatly combed back purple hair. He slumped down in the only object in the box - a chair with a cushion, to make him comfortable at the very least.

Pythor picked up a tea cup and poured some steaming tea into it. He grinned at Kai slyly as he raised the cup to his lips.

"Can I get some of that?" He asked.

The cup was set back on the table with a soft _clink_. "Why yes, of course." He came forward to Kai's box with another full cup of tea in his hands.

"Funny," Kai began, laughing a bit, "I thought you were going to say 'no'."

"It's just tea, my boy."

Carelessly shrugging, Kai drank from it as he saw a shadow approaching. Pythor turned around to get a better look at what Kai was looking at.

It was the Overlord. The same pendant Kai had seen when he first met the man hanging loosely around his neck.

"Guess last night was a total bust, huh?" Kai sneered.

The Overlord locked eyes with him. "Last night was merely just to gather and test a few things."

Kai's brows drew nearer.

"I picked up a few more details on who Cole is associated with right now and who's on _your_ case."

Kai looked away. "You mean _your_ case. It's not mine."

"Yes but to get to me, they're going to need _you_. You're a part of this too." Kai held his breath when the Overlord caressed the pendant.

The Overlord had used him again last night for the party. He had some control over it, like several other times, but the whole plan to enter the party in the first place was the Overlord's idea. And when Kai noticed the unusually dark shade of red from Cole's arm, he was surprised. It meant either one of two things - that the arm had developed a new function, or that the Overlord got what he came for.

He began to wonder if Nya had gotten the paper he left for her in her bag. Every part of him was mad at himself for making a deal with the Overlord. Every part of him knew he had allowed the Overlord to use him to save his own skin. Every part of him was praying that his sister understood the danger he was in and that he needed help.

From the corner of his eyes, the Overlord spotted Acronix passing by, fiddling with a tablet.

"Acronix!" He snapped, startling the other.

"Uh, yes, Sir?"

"Be ready with the van when Flintlock calls in."

* * *

Cole wiggled his way inside the office and carefully closed the door behind him. "Chief G, I need to -" He stopped mid sentence when he noticed the concern etched all over Garmadon's face. "Chief?"

With a heavy sigh, Garmadon leaned forward some more and put the papers to the side. "Apparently Pythor escaped."

"Today?"

"No. Several days ago, actually."

"What? How?"

"We haven't found anything yet. Just that he isn't there in his cell." He waved a hand and sighed once more. "Anyways, um, what was it you wanted, Cole?"

"It's about last night at the party."

"I thought Borg and I already briefed over your encounter with Kai."

"You did, but… there's something about last night I didn't tell you."

The Chief was befuddled. He thought he had heard everything he needed to that night when he specifically told Cole not to leave any details out. He cleared his throat abruptly and nodded to Cole.

"My arm turned red last night. The lights, they _weren't_ blue, they were _red_."

"It changed colors?" The Chief looked out the window of his office. "Is that even possible?" He asked.

"I thought you would know something about it."

Garmadon sensed the disappointment in his voice.

"Can you make it change right now?"

Cole shook his head slowly. "I don't even have a clue what caused it to turn red."

"That's quite alright, Cole." Garmadon sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you any answers. By any means, you know I will certainly talk to Borg about it." He walked Cole to the door. "If it -"

The ground beneath them rumbled and Cole looked to Garmadon quickly. "What was that?" The Chief didn't answer but instead swiped a walkie-talkie off the table and started for the front of the building.

"Can anyone tell me what is going on outside?"

Someone buzzed in. " _Chief, there was an explosion several buildings down!"_

"An explosion?" Garmadon and Cole shared a look of dread. "You mean like a bomb?"

" _Yeah, like a bomb!"_ There was a cough and Garmadon opened the door, urging Cole to go out first. " _Chief… your son is in there."_

At those words, Garmadon skidded to a stop and held the walkie-talkie with a shaking fist. His eyes met Cole's as he felt his heart skip a beat.

Cole's eyes grew undoubtedly huge. "That must mean…"

The two of them sped to the scene where fire trucks and ambulances had arrived. A line of policemen were surrounding the front of the building, guns lines up to their shoulders. Garmadon spun one of them around so that he was forced to face the Chief.

"Lloyd is in there?" The man nodded.

Cole came between them, "Is it just him?" The officer shook his head. _Jay_. If Lloyd was in there then that meant Jay was likely inside too. Cole looked the officer in the eyes. "Then who else is in there with him?!"

* * *

"Jay! Toss me the gun!" Lloyd shouted to his partner, one arm outstretched to catch the weapon.

"Roger!" As asked, Jay threw the gun at Lloyd and soon after pulled out his own weapon - a silver staff. Jay twirled it before the man, making karate noises with his mouth.

"Who are you?" Lloyd demanded.

The man hid his hands behind his back, a sly smile on his face as his eyes switched between Jay and Lloyd.

"The name's Flintlock, and I believe you boys have something that my Captain needs."

"Captain?" Jay snorted. "We're in the future, dude - this isn't some pirate fantasy."

Lloyd elbowed Jay's side. "It doesn't matter. Captain, or whatever you want to call him - who is he?"

"And why should I tell you?"

"Because, _pal_ , we have the right to know who you're working for." To answer that question, Flintlock did so as to lift the folded part of his vest, revealing the symbol of a twisted dragon. The symbol of the Golden Master. Lloyd's eyes narrowed more on Flintlock. "What do you know about Kai?"

Jay gasped. "Lloyd, what the heck, man? This isn't the time to be asking about Kai-"

Flintlock chuckled. "That boy got himself into a mess that he can't walk out of that easily. Now where's Cole Brookstone?"

Jay raised his staff and an eyebrow simultaneously in question. "What do you want with Cole?"

"Just answer the question, boy."

Jay opened his mouth to speak but before he could, Lloyd hissed next to him, "He's not here."

"Oh, I have a feeling that ain't true, Garmadon."

"He's _not_ here, Flintlock."

With a shrug, Flintlock took one large step closer. "I guess I'll just have to stall a bit longer." The man whipped out his own gun and fired at Jay. The bullet bounced off the metal stick and Jay laughed awry. He zoomed past Lloyd, drawing the staff back and slamming it into Flintlock's side. Before the staff could land a blow, the criminal did a flip backwards as Jay stooped to the ground. "Careful there, boy," he teased.

Jay's staff hit the ground and he looked up at Flintlock, hesitantly lunging to the side when the gun was fired once more. Jay threw his head back over his shoulder and panted. "Man, this guy has good aim!" He jumped back again. "Why does it have to be a gun?! Guns are scary!"

Lloyd simply nodded and rolled between Jay and Flintlock, getting low close to the floor and thrusted his leg out. The foot came in contact with Flintlock's lower stomach and he doubled over. As the man collected himself, a piece of the building fell from above between them, sending dust in the air. Lloyd stumbled back with a loud cough and waved his hand in front of him in an attempt to clear the dust away. His eyes spotted Jay in a more clearer area.

"Where is he?"

Jay held his stick out in front of him and walked closer to Lloyd with caution. "I don't -" He yelped when the staff was shot out of his hands. "Know…"

The dust still hadn't cleared away and Lloyd couldn't see Flintlock anywhere. "Jay, get back." Maybe if he squinted hard enough he could see better. So Lloyd did so and just as suspected, he saw Flintlock creeping closer to them, his gun by his side.

Just as Lloyd raised his gun at eye level, Flintlock fired at where Lloyd's hand was, knocking exactly just the gun out of range. Lloyd let out a breath of relief when he noticed that his hand hadn't got shot. He fell back into a fist-to-fist fighting stance and swung his leg at the other. Flintlock pulled the trigger and a bullet shot out of the barrel burying itself deep in Lloyd's thigh. The young man inhaled sharply and tried to ignore the pain as he charged for the criminal. The man kicked a loose board up and held it in front of him right as Lloyd's hand punched through it.

As the fight commenced between the two, Jay's eyes fell upon Lloyd's fallen weapon and he raced to it, staying out of the boundaries of their fight. The minute he looked back up, he saw Lloyd take a blow and he catapulted back into the rubble. With a loud thud, he hit the debri and crumpled to the ground like a toy.

"Lloyd!" The brunette dashed over to Lloyd and let his eyes fall upon the wound in Lloyd's thigh. "I can't do this alone, buddy- Gah! Oh no, oh no. It's bleeding-"

Lloyd coughed deliberately, hoisting himself up on one elbow. "You think a wound from a gun wouldn't bleed?"

"Quick. Uh, I need something to wrap it in." Jay dropped the gun and searched the ground for anything good enough to be used for a gauze.

Lloyd shifted to his right, groaning.

"Where did you two go?" Flintlock's voice bellowed.

"Jay, can you move a bit faster?"

The brunette was still searching for some cloth.

Lloyd sat up straighter when he heard Flintlock's footsteps growing louder. "Jay!"

Accepting that there was nothing in the building around to help, he unraveled the grey kerchief around his neck. "Just a few more seconds…" He tied it tightly around the wound in Lloyd's thigh and patted it nicely.

"Found ya."

Jay's heart stopped and his breathing became more rapid. Drowned in fear, he turned around. He suddenly found himself scared to death. He felt like the air around him had thinned, making it harder and harder to breathe. The man pressed the barrel of the gun harder against his forehead.

"Surprise, surprise. Hello, boys." Flintlock said to them with a smirk and the gun clicked.

Jay gulped, his hand clutching tightly onto Lloyd with fear coursing through him.

"One shot from this baby and hah, it'll kill you both just like that." The building fell eerily quiet and all Jay could hear was the uneven pants from Lloyd, the thumping of his own heart, and the gun shifting in Flintlock's hand. Jay's eyes were locked on the gun. "If Brookstone ain't here, then where is he?"

"Right here."

Without removing the gun from Jay's head, Flintlock turned around to find Cole standing just several feet away from him with a gun in his hands.

"Brookstone. I was wondering when you'd show up." He whistled, pulling out another gun and aiming it for Cole. "I'd watch my step if I were you."

Cole's hand tightened around the handle. "Who are you?"

"Ah, it's Flintlock and you better drop the gun, boy."

"The only way I'll only drop it is if you let them go."

The man chuckled a bit and tilted his head to the side, raising the gun aimed for Cole higher. "That, my boy, is not going to happen."

Cole licked his lips.

"Alright then, _Flintlock_. How about a challenge? Me against you, but you spare them."

Within a second, Flintlock drew his arm away from Jay and swung the gun towards Cole, firing. On the plus side, Cole had jumped out of the way with his feet still on the ground. "Ooh, I do love a challenge."

Cole fired at the ceiling where a loose piece of debri was hanging. The board dropped onto Flintlock, but it wasn't nearly as heavy as he thought it would be.

While Flintlock was picking himself up from the rubble, the dark haired teenager looked to Jay. "Get Lloyd out of here, now!"

Jay's eyes filled with worry. "But he's after you! We can't just leave you here…"

The gun Cole had stolen from the police department had one bullet left, and since he had already used it there was no more ammo left for him to use. He tossed his gun to the side and readied his fists in battle position. " _Listen_ , don't _talk_ , Bluebell. You need to get him to safety! Lloyd is hurt and -" The teenager flew against the wall, groaning. Flintlock was back on his feet.

Jay shot straight to his feet. "Cole!"

Lloyd shook Jay gently by the bottom of his pants. "Jay, I need to get outside." The brunette followed his friend's eyes to the clothed part of his thigh. With a huff, Jay slung one of Lloyd's arms around his neck and hoisted him up, limping to the exit.

Swiftly, Cole's metallic hand had landed a successful punch on Flintlock's stomach, which was followed by another swing of his fist. At the same time, Flintlock's fingers uncurled and the gun in his hands fell to the ground. Cole grinned with satisfaction and bent down to reach for it until Flintlock grabbed Cole by the shoulders and kicked him back against the wall again. Cole stumbled right and left, coughing deliberately. Seeing as Cole's guard was down, Flintlock used this as an advantage and spied Jay's staff and picked it up with a gleam in his eyes. The moment Cole had regained him stance, the staff was pulled up before his neck, Flintlock standing behind him.

"Where are ya friends now when you need them, huh?"

Cole smirked, "Are you forgetting that I have these things called arms and legs?" He heaved his leg up to strike Flintlock down below. But it was no use when the man spun around to the other side, the staff forcing Cole's head forward. He struck both of Cole's feet, rendering them weak. Before Cole could make another move, Flintlock spun back around, this time dropping the staff and quickly seizing Cole's wrists and linking them behind him.

"Shouldn't have asked them to leave, huh? Are you regretting it all now?"

Cole gazed out the partially dirt covered window and he saw Lloyd being lifted into an ambulance car. Several feet away from him, Jay was talking to the Chief, and he looked like he was shouting, repeatedly pointing in Cole's direction. Cole drew his brows together and tried to stand. "They're safe now. That's all that matters."

Flintlock clicked his tongue. "Cole Brookstone, I could never really tell which side you were on." The young man ground his teeth together in frustration. "First you were just a little boy, wanting to help the world, and then you run away and commit to crime and now what?"

"It doesn't matter, does it?"

Flintlock fixed his eyes on the situation outside. "No, it doesn't… but this does."

Before Cole could process anything, Flintlock slammed the back of his gun against Cole's head, just hard enough to knock him out. Satisfied with his work, he put the gun away as the teenager fell limp to the floor. Raising his watched wrist to chin level, he asked, "Tell me you're almost here. I have the boy and outside does not look too pretty."

" _Almost there, Flintlock. My brother was just giving me a hard time on the technology these days."_ He heard a disgruntled laugh. " _Can you believe it? He admires the old days but I say that technology made things much simpler!"_

Flintlock groaned. "They don't call you two the Time Twins for nothing. Now hurry on up!" He shut off his wrist communicator and settled his eyes upon Cole's figure. He bent down and ran a hand over the bionic limb, filled with curiosity. Just several seconds ago it was blinking abnormally, hurting his eyes whenever he looked at it, but now it was back to its default. Flintlock wrinkled his nose. "Huh, what did the Overlord say about this arm again?"

Gathering all his strength, he lifted Cole into an upright position. He then muttered something under his breath and looked around the broken down room. "Looks like I'm gonna have to take you out the back."

Dragging Cole towards the back of the building was a cinch and luckily for him there wasn't a whole lot of debri piled up around. He lifted his head and searched for the getaway van that he had called in. "Acronix, where are ya?"

"I almost got caught, _Flintlock_. You're on your own." Flintlock cursed under his breath and proceeded to haul Cole outside. How was he going to take Cole back? He didn't know, but if he was able to get far enough from the defensive part of the city, he could call in some more help.

"Drop him, Flintlock." A high voice said.

Tilting his chin up, his eyes fixed on Jay. "You think I'm scared of you?" He rolled his eyes. "I know you wouldn't shoot - Oh!" He looked down at the ground and saw a small hole. "You missed."

"I didn't _miss_." Jay twirled the gun in his hands and slipped it back into the pocket on his belt. "I knew what I was doing, you mustached jerk."

Within seconds, Flintlock was surrounded, cops flanking either side of him.

"Hands up where we can see them! And drop all your weapons!"

No matter. So he was caught. The Overlord would find a way to bust him out. "I blame Acronix for this," he muttered and let go of Cole. Next, he emptied each of his pockets and gun holders, tossing them on the concrete beside Cole.

An officer marched up to him and locked his hands in cuffs. "You're coming with us, tough shooter."

As Flintlock was being carried away by the cops, Jay's first instinct was to drop his gun as he ran to Cole's limp figure on the ground. "Cole?" Jay gulped. His eyes studied Cole for any injuries and he bit the inside of his cheek when he saw some. _Great_. "More blood…" A sigh left him and he hunched over some more. Garmadon crouched down across from him and put a hand over Cole's forehead.

"He's out cold…" While the cops were leading Flintlock out, Garmadon asked Jay to help him carry Cole outside. Outside, Garmadon hoisted Cole into the back of his car while Jay hopped into the passenger's seat. "I'm taking you two home. After, I'm going to check on Lloyd and all the others at the hospital. Clean up some of the blood and make sure he gets rested, would you?"

Jay nodded silently.

* * *

"Well that's just great! We just lost one of our best sharpshooters!" Krux paced the room with his fists clenched.

"Hey, I almost got caught too!"

Krux shook his head with annoyance. "I wouldn't have cared if they caught you, brother." He walked closer to the chair where their leader sat, looking questionable. "What are we going to do now? We were this close to getting Brookstone and now it feels like we went all the way back to square one."

Acronix bounced on his toes when an idea came into mind and he rushed to the other side of the chair. "Hey, you know, once we're done using the arm for whatever it is you need it for, then maybe we could get Cole to join our side! Then it'd be even harder for Garmadon and his son to stop us!"

His brother hissed and growled, poking Acronix in the stomach. "No, you idiot! Shut up!"

The man in the chair clasped his hands together in thought and closed his eyes for a brief moment. The pendant around his neck illuminated a vibrant purple, matching his eyes when they opened. His eyes slowly drifted to the young man in the other room.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." He raised his hand and Kai stood up. "We'll have him bring Cole to us."

* * *

 **Gosh I feel like I'm typing a Bucky Barnes fic or something lol.**

 **Man, check out all those villains, huh? Their gang isn't made up of all the antagonists from the series, obviously. There'll only be certain ones I chose to star in here X3**

 **Gah! It's 2018! I _can't wait_ for Sons of Garmadon to come out AHHHH!**


	11. The Past and the Present

**Oh my gosh this is late! Like even where I am right now it's midnight already! This week was pretty hectic with a ton of school stuff going on and I was constantly listening to the Greatest Showman soundtrack that is sidetracked me from everything else!**

 **Man, I was even finishing it up today around 5 PM but in between I had this chat with my mom about downloading apps and whatnot to our computer(s)... and I finally found a computer I was allowed to play Doki Doki Literature Club on! And _that_... completely sucked me away from everything else.**

 **Also, I updated the cover image! Ahhh yeah :))**

 **So anyways ,,, here's that chapter y'all get. Hopefully I can get out another baby oneshot soon. :')**

* * *

 **Flashback. Several years after the incident.**

"If you were putting those back where they came from, you know I'd _love_ to help."

Kai's fingers curled tighter around the strap and he looked over his shoulder for the source of the voice. He patted his hand over the satchel. "Oh, _this_? It's just a couple of books. Not much of a big deal, to be honest."

Casually leaning beside the door frame, Cole cocked his head to the side and raised a brow. "If it's not such a big deal then why not just put it back?"

"Ahah, well you _see_ , my sister needs these books for an important research project, so I really need to get these home to her."

"Go to the library next time then." Popping a bubble of gum, Cole kicked himself off the wall and walked closer to Kai. "I said, _put them back_."

Kai pulled out a gun and aimed it for Cole. His eyebrows drew near. "Alright, _bucko_ , what do I have to do to get you to leave?"

He drew nearer. Cole dodged the bullet before hastily wrapping his bionic hand around the barrel of the gun, ripping it out of Kai's hand. "Return the books, _Kai_. The Chief is already on his way, so it'll be too late by the time you get out of this museum anyways."

"Grr, I should've known the cops were on their way." The sound of doors slamming grabbed Kai's attention and he ran to the window, peering outside.

Cole put the gun away and frowned at Kai, folding his arms across his chest. "Nevermind. I guess they're here already."

Kai turned to Cole and scoffed, trying to formulate a plan in his head. He spotted Cole's bionic arm and the gears clicked almost instantly. He knew about how Cole lost his real arm and gained that piece of metal and he could use that to his advantage.

"Clock's ticking, Kai. Give me the bag, _now_."

He heard the doors downstairs bust open and Kai took it to make his move.

" _I can't believe you're working with them_."

Cole cocked a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, obviously you tried to be like them, but look where that got you," Kai motioned to his arm, "you could be doing tons of other things… _especially_ with a new upgrade."

The dark haired teenager curled his fingers around the gun handle tightly. "Practically everyone knows that you ran away from home. That you lost your parents while you weren't around them. And that you lost your arm on the day of your birthday. I bet a lot of people feel bad for you."

"Well, I'm perfectly happy with my life. Thank you very much."

The footsteps grew louder.

"No you're not. I can tell. You made a lot of choices you regretted, didn't you?" Kai smirked when he noticed the other shift uncomfortably.

Cole couldn't deny it. Kai was right after all. Cole knew the path he was following still left him wretched and lost. All it took was one wrong move after the other. A part of himself hated himself for running away. Another part of himself was content with all he did - he threw himself in the middle of danger without realizing the costs. He worried Garmadon. He worried Wu. He lost his parents. He lost his arm. Working for Chief Garmadon was just something he'd always dreamed of since a kid, and losing an arm didn't stop him from running into near-death situations. But Kai had a point. And Cole knew what he was trying to do.

"Guess we could fix that somehow… You know… If you let me out of here, free of harm, my sis and I could let you hang with us. We can do whatever you want, anything that would feel like it would, ehh, I dunno - sort of even out the playing field?"

Cole's arm blinked furiously and as the footsteps drew nearer, he waved his hand near the gun he had stolen from Kai.

All too suddenly, a wave of cops rolled in, guns in their hands as they flew past Cole and surrounded Kai. "Hands up where we can see them! And drop the bag!"

For a second, Kai looked to Cole, thinking that Cole had rejected Kai's words. He saw Cole's eyes dart around hesitantly, avoiding any eye contact with Kai.

Before the criminal could let go of the bag, a gun clicked from behind the officers. "Put your guns down, _now_." Kai felt a smile curl on his lips. An officer turned around and lowered his gun when he saw Cole raising the gun up at him. "And tell the rest of your friends to do the same."

As the officers lowered their guns, confused and scared of what was going on, Kai walked around them casually, the book bag still within his grasp. He met up with Cole, winked, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Looks like you did come around."

Cole ground his teeth together, annoyed by Kai's cocky attitude. Before he followed the criminal down the flights of steps, he raised his metallic arm up at the officers with a threatening look in his eyes. "The gun might be facing the other way, but you guys know how strong this arm is."

* * *

 **Present day. The day after Flintlock and the explosion.**

It was getting incredibly warm and Cole couldn't help but continue to shift uncomfortably wherever he was. He couldn't even remember what exactly happened before. He tried to sit up but winced at the sore pains all over. So he opened his eyes instead and boy, did he regret it.

The light was so bright and it _hurt_.

When his vision finally came to focus, he observed what he could and instantly recognized it as Jay and Lloyd's shared house.

When and how did he get here?

He tilted his head to the coffee table, noticing a bowl of steaming soup and a glass of water next to it. And right there on the right was a stick of gum.

"Umm…" Fighting through the soreness, he sat up and faced the table, hunching closer to the table. He moved to pick up the gum but then saw the spoon beside the bowl and he picked it up, debating whether or not he should enjoy the soup that was laid out before him.

"Er, did you want me to pick him up?"

Cole's head whipped to the kitchen where the voice had come from.

"Oh, uh, right." A brief pause. "Yeah, I gotchu, Garm! Oh - no? Sorry… adios!"

There was another sound of an object hitting the surface of the table and then of feet shuffling around the kitchen. However, the moment Cole had decided to go for the soup, Jay walked out of the kitchen, looking doubtful and concerned.

Cole tensed when he saw the brunette, suddenly remembering the events of yesterday.

The explosion.

The man, Flintlock.

Lloyd, _shot_. And Jay nearly killed.

Then lastly, himself. After he was struck in the back of the head with Flintlock's gun, he forgot everything and allowed himself to fall out.

Cole stared at the soup, trying to process his thoughts. On the other hand, Jay hadn't even realized that Cole was wide awake, sitting with his whole body leaned towards the soup on the table.

When Jay was closer to the sofa, he looked up and fixed his eyes on Cole, raising his arms in front of his chest.

"Wah! Wh- what?" Jay relaxed and blinked, then rubbed his eyes, still staring at Cole with disbelief. But his shocked look slowly turned into a smile and he bounced on his toes gleefully. "You're… _awake_!"

"Yuh-You were asleep for so long, I thought you were dead. Or, like, you know… in a coma or something?" Jay scratched the back of his neck, laughing nervously.

"How long was I out?"

"Twelve ish… hours? Maybe a little longer? Technically you missed dinner yesterday, then breakfast today, but you're up now and you found the soup! Sooo…"

Cole stayed quiet and dipped his spoon into the soup.

A little worried, Jay slid onto the couch beside Cole and cracked a smile.

"Hey, um, yanno thanks for coming when you did yesterday. I probably wouldn't even be here right now if you hadn't showed up." Jay took a glance at Cole and frowned when it seemed like the other boy wasn't even paying attention.

Cole's brows came up as he stared at the soup and he swallowed, still not looking at Jay. "You're welcome, Bluebell." He said softly. "Also… how's Lloyd?" He asked, his voice a little higher than usual. Jay held back for a moment, wondering if Cole was alright. "Is he okay?"

Finally, he spoke, "He's… _good_. Chief Garmadon said he needs to rest in the hospital for a bit buuuuuuut yanno we can visit him tomorrow."

Cole silently nodded. He felt his stomach knot when he recalled yesterday's events. Whoever that Flintlock guy was, Cole knew for sure he had some relation to Kai and whatever was going on behind him. But thinking about it stressed him out, so in the meantime, he happily took the soup Jay prepared for him and just ate.

* * *

The next day, they did arrive at the hospital - pretty late in the afternoon, but Lloyd wasn't going anywhere, right?

The minute Cole stepped into the hospital though, Cole was stunned at how everything looked. Everything looked the same as he remembered.

Years later and the hospital hadn't even changed much. The same hospital that he was in about six years ago. In fact, it was just a little less than a week till it would've marked exactly six years since he had been back here. And the same exact day as his birthday.

Cole let out a deep breath and opened his eyes to see Jay was already way ahead of him, waiting by the wall for Cole to catch up. To his surprise, they weren't even that far away from Lloyd's room. The moment they found the correct door, Jay swooped in, an enormous grin on his face.

"Hey, bro! How're you holding up?"

Lloyd plucked the open comic from his face and dropped it over his lap, fixing his eyes on his friend.

"Better. At least."

"Heh, that's good to hear." The brunette seated himself on one of the cushions to the side. He looked for an open spot on the hospital bed and put his elbow up on it, leaning his head against his palm.

"You know, Nya and Zane came to visit me earlier. Looks like you weren't the first." Lloyd snickered.

"Well so- _rry_. There's one extra person living with us - who's apparently _my_ job now."

"Sorry," Lloyd admitted.

"It's alright. Sucks you have to stay here a little longer though."

"Yeah, the doctor says they're still checking a few things. But I should be out eventually."

With a hearty laugh, Jay picked up the comic and flipped through it curiously. He wrinkled his nose and stuck out his tongue, disgusted as he threw the comic back on the bed. "Agh! This one again? This issue was the worst!"

" _I know_. I was actually using it to bore myself to sleep."

Jay nodded, impressed. "Smaaaart."

"Did Cole come with you?"

Jay tilted his head and pointed a finger to his right. Turning around slowly, he said, "Uh, _yeah_. He's right… here? He was with me - where did he go?"

Outside of Lloyd's room, Cole was standing by another but with a tween girl inside - one of the victims of yesterday's explosion. He stepped closer to the window sill and rested a hand on the frame, taking notice of the girl's parents.

It was funny. Years later and all the memories were still fresh in his mind. Cause with a childhood like that, it was hard to forget and hard to let go, and as long as his arm was there, he would _never_ forget.

His parents had passed away months before the tragedy. Not only were they not there when he was in so much pain, but Cole himself was not even there with his parents on _their_ last day. He had only gone to attend their funeral, but after that it was just him. Him and Wu. Him and Garmadon.

Garmadon was a nice man. Cole had formed an odd but amazing friendship with the police chief. Little ol' Cole and the Chief. But of course the Chief had his own family to take care of, and while Lloyd was still somewhat younger than Cole, they still never got the chance to meet. It was only until Cole had joined the Smith siblings that he finally met the Chief's son. So while Garmadon rested with his family, Wu, his brother, allowed Cole to make himself feel at home at his place.

He never told anyone why he ran away from home. He didn't want to. But the truth was, he wanted his own life. While his mom was like the best person in the world to him, he still found the need to run away and leave behind his past to pursue a new one. One that was like the Chief, because he always admired them and all they did to serve this city. Though, as the years passed, Cole grew a little more reckless and troublesome - Garmadon remembered that very well.

"Whatcha doing out here?"

Cole knew very well it was Jay just by the sound of his voice. Without turning around, he answered quickly.

"Nothing. What are you doing here?"

"I was, uh, looking for you. You haven't said 'hi' to Lloyd yet, you know?"

"Right. I'm - I just haven't been back here for such a long time, since the incident… it's kinda hard to take in."

"Weeelll, that's okay. Here, eh, how about we stop by Lloyd's room first theeeen grab something to eat?"

"But we just had lunch an hour ago."

"What can I say?" Jay shrugged with a careless grin on his face. "I like food. Don't we all?"

This seemed to cheer Cole up a little as his reaction to Jay's comment was a brief and enthusiastic snort. "That's correct, Bluebell." Cole's eyes lit up when he thought of something. "Hey, I just realized… I've been calling you by the name Bluebell since, practically day one… I'm surprised you haven't brought anything up about it lately."

At first, Jay was staring dull at the floor but the fact hit him like a bullet and he whipped his head up, face turning red. He actually hadn't noticed that the nickname Bluebell was used constantly. He had gotten so used to answering to it that he had just dropped the grudge and started to not care.

Cole still stared at him with question, wondering if Jay would respond.

"OH… yeah, well I guess I hadn't noticed - I've gotten used to it?" Jay shook his head dumbly. "Forget it. I still answer to it anyways so -" he shrugged once more and showed Cole a half hearted smile before moving back to Lloyd's room.

Cole stood for a minute, trying to digest Jay's words. So he didn't mind that Cole was calling him Bluebell this whole time? Or... he scratched the back of his neck and shook his head, deciding to try something _new_.

"Huh. Alright then. _Jay_."


	12. Stealth is My Middle Name

**AHH! Did y'all see the new Sons of Garmadon teasers? I'm so excited! And I think I may just love Harumi - my only problem was the whole introducing a new female character and making them a love interest for the ninja thing. Gawsh, the Hagemans seem to do that all the time don't they? *shakes head sadly* Not to mention that whole 'favorite color = significant other' thing really annoyed me. The first time it was done (man, way back in the pilots) it was okay, yanno what I mean? But it's just weird that Jay brought it up again. Plus, is green really Lloyd's favorite color? It was never explicitly stated - it's just the color of his gis. Besides, Cole wears black but his favorite color is orange.**

 **ANYWAYS psh, ah, there may or may not be a chapter next week cause it's finals week for me *sobs* But enjoy this little thing :))**

* * *

Nearly two days later and Lloyd was still stuck in the hospital, rendered useless at the moment to any problem Jay or his Dad might face. The Doctor who was watching over Lloyd had found a fractured bone and insisted Lloyd stay while they tried to do something about it with all the new technology they developed.

Meanwhile, Jay was having a great time.

At first, a part of him was scolding at himself, _begging_ him, not to start playing video games with Cole. Though, Jay was running out of options on how to keep Cole's spirits high. Ever since that visit to the hospital, Cole had fallen a little more into the dumps and Jay didn't actually think that was possible coming from Cole. He hadn't even expected Cole to be such a whiz at playing video games. The former fugitive was kicking Jay's butt during any versus type game; and whenever they played on the same team, points would be adding up as quick as lightning. All because of Cole.

Thankfully, there had been no signs of Kai or any other member of the Golden Master in the City recently and Jay felt like he could relax once again.

Right now, he was sitting at a small table near the front of the café, waiting for his dark haired ally to return. He slid further down in his seat and pulled up his watch, swiping through an organized list of the news on the hologram.

There was still nothing.

Nothing on Kai.

Nothing on the Golden Master.

Nothing on the Ov-

Jay paused and shot into a proper sitting position, pulling up one of the articles.

 _What Happened to the Chief?_

"What happened to the Chief?" Jay repeated aloud. "Yesterday, December 13th, Chief Garmadon was reported missing. The time of his disappearance is unknown. The last place he was seen was at the Ninjago City Hospital on Thunder Lane. The last person to see him was his son." Jay chewed on the inside of his cheek. _No… what's happening?_

"Sorry. The line was really long." Cole said, pulling out his seat. Jay kept his eyes on the watch and simply nodded. "Jay…?"

The brunette cleared his throat and nodded once again. He reached for his plate - the cake he had asked Cole to get for him. Picking up the fork, he used it to play with the dessert, eyes drifting away from the other in front of him.

"Hey, um, I need to tell you something afterwards."

"Huh?"

Jay grazed a finger over his watch. "Or you know… show you something? It's kinda important."

"You don't want to tell me right now?"

Jay shook his head. Bringing up the report of the Chief having gone missing could have meant cutting their time at the cafe short. At last, he broke off a small piece of the cake and brought it to his lips, swallowing.

As he continued to eat, he scanned the rest of the table, curious to see if Cole had bought anything for himself. To his surprise, his plate was the only dish.

He lowered his fork and eyed Cole suspiciously. Mouth still full, he said, "Dude, you love cake!"

"Yeah." Cole whipped out his hand from underneath the table and flashed a fork in Jay's face. "I'm sharing some of yours. Also, don't talk with your mouth full, Bluebell. That's just gross."

"Um, speak for yourself. You left a wad of gum under the dining table! … At least I think you did…" He added that last part softly.

Cole drew back in disgust. "Er, no? That's even worse, _Jay_." He relaxed in his seat and leaned forward, a smug grin plastered on his face. "You sure you weren't just seeing things? You do have one hell of an imagination."

The latter muttered something under his breath and dropped his fork on top of the plate. "Why do you always have to curse? I can hear you _all the time_ at home!"

"So…? Is there a problem, Bluebell?"

"I'm just…" Jay's shoulders came up to touch his ears. "I don't like it when people swear. You know, you should never swear. It's a sign of weak verbal skills..." he muttered softly.

"So 'hell' is a bad word to you?"

"N-No… it's just… I prefer ' _heck_ ' over, well that. I just felt like I needed to bring it up... Cause you do it a lot… and…" Jay waved his hands in the air, clearly embarrassed. "Just forget it! I'm going to eat this."

Cole threw his head back and laughed, wiping at his eyes for any tears. He couldn't help but admit that had just _umph_ ed the cuteness meter - one that he had come up with when he first met Jay - by a lot. Come on, not swearing? And the brunette was only one year younger than he was. It was rare for him to come across people who hadn't at least once used a _bad word_.

 _Ding._

Jay used this as an opportunity and quickly ducked his head down to see his phone. Nya had texted him, and by the looks of it, it wasn't anything good. Back at the hospital, before they left, Lloyd gave Jay her number, along with Zane's, in case anything was to happen while his friend was still stuck in the hospital.

 _I just got a message from my brother. I think Cole needs to hear this._

In the end, Jay had purposely forgot to tell Cole about Garmadon's disappearance.

* * *

"Zane?" Jay followed Cole into the small room filled with computers, a perplexed look scrawled all over his face. He knew that Zane and Nya were working for Chief Garmadon now, but what he wanted to know was how the two of them got a hold of the computer room. The whole room awed him; everything about the place looked techy and extremely savvy to him. Honestly, Jay could spend all day in a place like this.

His attention, however, was diverted to young woman in the chair when she cleared her throat quite loudly. Supposedly to grab their attention. Nya whirled around in her chair, acknowledging Jay and Cole's presence. She beamed with delight, but it quickly deepened into a look of distress. Jay felt like the air around him had gotten thicker with every move Nya made, appearing taught and serious.

Cole deemed himself confused. "What's going on?"

To the left of him, Zane pulled up a voice recording as Nya opened up current files. "Somehow, Kai was able to transmit an audio file to one of the computers here at the police department. One of the guys asked us to check it out and thank goodness no one else because… I think it's meant for you, Cole."

"Do not forget, but Kai's message did also mention about the Chief's disappearance."

Cole's head perked up suddenly. " _Wait_. _Chief?_ As in Chief Garmadon?"

"Garmadon is… missing?" Cole gaped, trying to believe his own words. "Where - what happened to him? Does anyone know?"

Zane shook his head, clueless. "No one knows what happened to him."

Nya growled. "Taking away Kai was one problem, but now that the Chief is gone-"

The room fell eerily silent.

"Play the audio file."

" _I'm sorry, sis. I shouldn't have made a deal with the Overlord. I don't know what they want with Cole's arm or why they even need it that badly, but you guys have to stay away from him. Trust me, sneaking into their lair is simple but once you're in, it's impossible to get back out. You can't this guy or anyone working with him._

 _By the way, I know where they hid Chief Garmadon. He's in that old warehouse we used to hang in - remember, Nya?_

There was a staggered breath and everyone in the room exchanged looks.

 _I'm fine._

 _Don't worry about me. Get the Chief back."_

The file ended and Jay drummed his fingers against the table, staring off into the distance. "Weeelllll…" he started, filling in the silence, "That was _oddly strange_. Obviously he's trying to lure us into there, right? There's no way we're walking into that warehouse or whatever it was."

"No, we have to go." Cole stated firmly.

"Ahah. Excuse me?"

"Cole is right, Jay." Zane said. "We cannot just leave them in the hands of the enemy. And we also cannot let them continue to roam free."

Nya nodded in agreement. "You saw what happened when Flintlock attacked, you know that my brother has somehow gotten himself into this scary mess, and you know they want Cole. Sitting around will do us nothing."

"Alright then. Okay. Soooo we're infiltrating a warehouse, then? Was that your secret criminal base or something? Ahah, how much more typical can this get?!" Cole rolled his eyes at Jay's remark.

"It's a pretty big warehouse, that's one thing. There's probably some traps I was in the middle of making and other fragile things lying around - don't touch those… but other than that, you should be fine."

Cole knitted his brows together in thought. "What about the Overlord's traps? He could've scattered some allies around the place… or something."

Jay leapt up from his seat, with a toothy grin. "Eh? So we need to be stealthy? 'Stealth' is my middle name!"

Cole slapped Jay upside down in the head. The brunette rubbed the back of his head in response, groaning. "Ow… Gosh, it was just a joke."

"Not. Funny."

Nya shrugged. "Cole's right. Stealth won't do you any good. For all we know, this is definitely some kind of a trap. But if we really can save Garmadon, then good news! Right? The best shot we have at this is if you two don't split up. We don't know who or what Kai brought with him. And besides, this is the Overlord we're talking about. He could've taken control over my brother or brought some 'friends' with him."

"Don't split up…" Cole repeated and nodded sharply. "Got it."

The young woman handed each of them a small attachment. "Little ear pieces so I can talk to you." She smiled. "Zane will help me back here if anything else pops up. Oh! And we'll also keep Lloyd posted."

"Thanks, Nya." Cole said to her as he put the earpiece away.

"Tonight," she said, earning nods from across the room.

"Welp," Jay started, stretching his arms in the air, "first time I knowingly walk into a trap. Nice."

* * *

 **[9:45 PM : Smith Warehouse Hideaway]**

Jay pressed his back against the side of the warehouse, seeing Cole looking focused on the task at hand. He had never before been on a mission like this with anyone but Lloyd, and now that he was doing it for the first time, he felt somewhat refreshed working alongside a new partner.

"You got the watch?" He asked him.

Cole turned to Jay and raised his arm, the watch catching Jay's eyes. To Jay, having his watch was an easy way for communication to him - easier than carrying a phone around all day too.

" _Where are you guys?"_

Nya patched in.

"Er, we're at the door."

" _Perfect. There should be a small keypad by the entrance to input the password. The password is…"_

Cole was impressed at how seriously Jay was taking this mission. He had expected the brunette to be getting butterflies in his stomach every so often but he should've known better considering that Jay and Lloyd used to do things like this all the time. Cole snorted and relaxed against the building a bit more. He used to do this to. Except, not for anything good. It was always with Kai and Nya - they always knew what to do and sometimes, Cole felt like he was just like extra dead weight on their shoulders. Come to think of it, he had never been to this warehouse before. Guess that showed how much the siblings trusted him.

As Jay spoke into the mic, Cole caught a flash of red coming from the corner of his eyes and he followed the source to his arm. Flashing abnormally. He quickly turned around, keeping out of Jay's sight, and closed his eyes.

 _Not right now. Not right now._

Suddenly, he heard Nya buzz out and it struck him that Jay had finished opening the warehouse doors. Cole pleaded for his arm to return back to blue.

"Cole, come on, let's go!" Jay urged Cole to the warehouse entrance. Soon, his reaction twisted into that of shock and he froze, his eyes glued on Cole's arm. "It's red again."

"Way to point out the obvious, Bluebell," Cole joked, his voice shaky.

Jay gulped. "Well… it's not doing any harm right now, right?"

Cole shook his head.

"It's fine then. Pretend it's blue and let's get inside."

"But… I don't know what this means. I can't just leave -"

He stopped squirming and panicking when Jay, grabbing him by both hands, pulled him close against him. "Cole, that doesn't matter right now. If we can catch Kai right now, then the faster we can deal with whatever is going on with your arm."

Green eyes never left blue. He knew what Jay was saying was true, though a part of him had a sinking feeling that they would never get around to capturing Kai successfully. He didn't want to be the one thinking negatively, but even if they did catch Kai, it wouldn't put an end to anything. The Golden Master was still out there and all they knew was that Kai was just the barrier.

"Bluebe-"

A static sound came through the earpiece and Nya's voice rang loud and clear.

" _Guys, I probably should've told you this sooner but the doors won't stay open for long. They close pretty fast!"_

The brunette pulled apart hastily and let go, dropping his hands by his sides. He turned away from Cole, feeling his entire body heat up. He felt like he could feel Cole's stare, boring into his back. Taking in a deep breath, he stated bluntly, "Come on." With that, he fled to the entrance of the warehouse while Cole stayed behind for a few seconds and soon caught up in no time.

Jay's eyes searched the inside of the warehouse and he said into the mic, "We're in." Then he looked to Cole, whose arm was still red, and put on his game face. "I'll take the left, you take the right."

"But Nya said -"

"It's fine. We have a better chance if we split up anyways. Just use your watch to call me if something happens."

 _Dammit, Cole…_ he hesitated for a moment, then swallowed and nodded at Jay.

The moment Jay was out of view, Cole slammed himself against the side of a cargo box and held his arm painfully. _Dammit,_ _ **dammit**_ _, Cole… why do you have to like him?_

* * *

 **Huh, funny. You know Jay should be saying that rather than Cole.**

 **Life's hard :')) especially when your mom says she might go to watch The Greatest Showman again and can't take you with. (I need to see it a third time. Make it even with Moana. Because it's definitely my favorite movie next to Moana).**

 **Hope you all enjoyed!**


	13. Too Little, Too Late

**Ahah, Star vs the Forces of Evil song title? Also, did y'all catch the new Sons of Garmadon episode?! I LOVED IT! I'm very excited for the rest of this season :))**

 **Anyways, I'm sorry this update is pretty late at night and on Tuesday, or Wednesday for some people, but I wanted to get this out of the way before I start my finals tomorrow! Wish me luck and hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Okay, so my arm is still red. I'm in an abandoned warehouse which is definitely set up to be a trap. Chief G is missing and… we split up. Even when Nya told us not to-" Cole clenched his fists. He had no way of contacting Nya. There was no way to tell her that Jay had taken matters into his own hands, and it was all because he had lost his earpiece sometime back on the way to the warehouse. Pretending that all would be okay, he shuffled on forward and continued to keep searching. His eyes fell upon a group of boxes and he walked over to them, keeping his arms up in defense. Relief flooded through him when there was nothing hiding behind the boxes and he let out a small sigh. He proceeded to recite his list of problems but his voice grew shaky when he came upon the last one. "And… I like Jay."

He chewed on his lip. "I _like_ Jay." He didn't want to admit it, but he did. And he couldn't help but _not_ admit it. That was the reason he had allowed them to split up in the first place.

The young teenager had sounded so confident and so firm. Cole wanted to believe that Jay knew exactly what he was doing.

"I'm _in love_ with Jay…" he said again, this time much softer and with less confidence.

He clutched the sides of his head in frustration. "Hoo. Come on. Focus, Cole." His hands fell from his head and he took in his surroundings while also relaxing his breathing. When everything looked clear and Golden Master free, he moved forward, keeping his eyes peeled for any surprises.

He stumbled across a small table in the corner with a mess of papers scattered all over the surface. Curious, he shuffled closer to the table and fumbled through all the documents.

"What… the…" He glared at one of the documents, never taking his eyes off of it as he lifted it closer to read. He nearly fell backwards at the first words on the page. "Cole Brookstone." It was a physical record of himself. Of Cole Brookstone. Like that wasn't creepy.

His eyes fell upon an article that had been sitting underneath his record. It was rather odd since for the past several years, events had been mostly documented online for easier access, unless of course you were working with the NPD or some kind of protective organization. The young man used his other free hand to reach for the article, putting it over his record.

'THE GOLDEN MASTER ISN'T PLAYING AROUND.' It read.

Cole shivered and began to read.

"On October 31st the year '29, the Golden Master criminal group striked again, injuring dozens of innocent people but killing two." Cole's heart pounded. October thirty-first was the date his parents had passed away. He brought himself to continue reading… "That day, one of Ninjago City's newest trains had diverted off the tracks and plummeted onto the streets, cracking through the concrete. The event was described as an unfortunate accident, however we now know that everything that occurred was surely intentional. They were not actually there at the scene of the deadly event, but the dangerous criminal group has admitted to being the source of the attack… Lou Brookstone and his wife-"

Cole stopped. He looked away painfully, giving himself a few seconds to gather the courage to keep reading. His eyes slowly eased back to the paper and he finished the sentence.

"-lost their lives-"

Cole froze.

All at once, the world around him stopped and he felt like his heart had stopped as well. He felt like he had stopped _breathing_.

His stomach turned and his legs gave in as the lone teenager collapsed to the ground, clutching the article tightly.

"No… no, no, _no_." He repeated, bringing the paper up to read again. His own name caught his attention and he skipped down to that line, reading it aloud. "Their son, Cole Brookstone, was thankfully not present during this tragic event, but his whereabouts are still unknown."

" _No_. I…" He closed his mouth the minute he heard his voice break.

His parents had died in the hands of the Golden Master. In the hands of the man who called himself the Overlord. And all this time, he thought, he _believed_ , that they had just gone of old age. That's what Wu told him. That's what Garmadon told him. That's what they all told him.

To spare his feelings.

He could've been there for them. He _should've_ been there for them. But instead he ran away, never looking back when he should've looked back.

"Well, Brother, look who I found."

Cole slowly lifted his head out of his hands at the voice. He couldn't recognize it, which could only mean one thing -

Cole had never moved so fast in his life. He jumped to his feet and pulled out the gun from its pocket holder.

His arm was still red when he fired the first bullet.

* * *

Jay ran his hand up his forearms and shivered, hunching over. "Hoo, just being here gives me the heebie jeebies." He gazed down at his watch, a part of him desperate to get a call from Cole. Maybe splitting up was a bad idea. But he couldn't deny that this way they would cover much more ground than they would've as a pair. A finger reached for the mic by his chin and he turned it on, speaking into it.

"What am I supposed to be looking for again?"

Though, all that he could hear was a bundle of static noises.

"Nya?"

He fiddled with the positioning of the mic and earpiece. "Nya, are you there? Zane?" He stopped walking and tilted his head back to gaze at the roof - a very high roof with so much _space_ … everywhere. "I guess the walls of this place are blocking out any kind of wavelength." Startled, his wrist shot up and he tapped his watch anxiously. "Oh no, oh no!" If there was no signal, then that meant their watches wouldn't work either. Jay bit his bottom lip and ran to the side, trying to get a call to work. The brunette realized he wasn't getting anywhere and gave up, collapsing against the wall for support.

"That's just great," he murmured softly, taking off his gloves

His hand shot to his side where a metal staff sat when he heard a noise. "Who's there?" Curling his fingers around the cool metal, he kicked away from the wall and crept to where he thought he heard the sound.

"I… I have a weapon… so come out and face me!"

He hushed himself when the sound of struggling became clearer. This arose question to Jay and he inched closer to the source, keeping his hand over the staff for self defense. The pounding in his head stopped when he came face to face with the man that they had been searching for.

"Chief Garmadon!" The brunette rushed to the officer and untied the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles together. The Chief licked his dry lips once the gag from his mouth was removed. "Are you okay? How long have you been here?"

Jay watched as the Chief twirled his wrists, loosening them from their tight bounds. "Since yesterday. I was leaving the hospital but cannot remember anything else."

"So you must've been knocked out."

"Yes, yes, that seems about right."

"By the way, Cole's arm turned red again. Do you know anything about that?"

Garmadon knitted his brows together in thought and he nodded. "I did overhear Pythor say that Cole's arm turning red was a result of the corruption of the Overlord." The brunette's face paled.

"C-Corruption?"

"Whenever it is red, he can _control_ his arm, Jay."

Jay gulped. "Is there any way to get rid of that corruption?"

The Chief bowed his head in disappointment. "I believe only the Overlord can do that."

Jay's hope went down the drain. "Well that's just great."

"Did you come here alone?" Garmadon asked quickly, as if he hadn't heard Jay's pout.

The young teenager shook his head. "Cole's… with me… well, he was. I told him to split up."

He noticed the way Garmadon looked at him and shriveled back at his piercing gaze. " _Was_? Where is he, Jay?"

"I - I don't know. Somewhere on the other side? This warehouse is huge." Jay's eyes flickered to the ground a moment and his heart skipped a beat. "Wait. If I found you…"

Both their heads turned when a loud _bang_ drummed from behind them. Jay stood, staring bluntly for several seconds, his mind racing to process what could have made that sound. Garmadon shifted beside him and he exchanged a look with Jay.

"Cole." The brunette muttered. " _Cole!_ " Jay quickly looked to the Chief. "Don't follow me. Just warn Lloyd. It's more important that he knows if something happens to us, right?"

He earned a nod from Chief Garmadon. Jay's feet picked up and he fled from the Chief to the source of the sound, his hand hovering over his staff.

He only hoped he wasn't too late by the time he reached Cole.

* * *

"Stay back!" Cole shouted, keeping his gun raised at eye level. The minute Cole had pulled the trigger, Acronix had stepped to the side, allowing the bullet to fly straight past him.

"Woah, easy, Brookstone." Acronix clasped his hands behind his back, appearing to be completely calm. "We could do this the easy way, or we could do it the hard way. I much prefer the easy way but knowing how these things usually turn out in movies, it's probably not -"

"Stop talking. Just _stop_ talking!" Cole's arms shook the harder her gripped the gun and he looked away, squeezing his eyes closed.

"Man, looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Both Acronix and Krux guwaffed.

Cole wasn't hesitant to pull the trigger again, that was until another voice growled lowly from behind him.

"Quit teasing him."

The teenager whirled around and met eyes with a familiar face. "Kai…?"

"Not quite." The criminal cocked a scarred brow and Cole's chucked the gun as far as possible away from him, the weapon dropping to the concrete ground with a thud. Kai eyed where the gun had disappeared to with a satisfied grin and asked slowly, "You come here alone? Smart move, Cole."

Rage building up inside of him, Cole charger at Kai, raising a fist, but was too slow to regain his balance when Kai stepped out of the way. Cole crashed against the ground onto his arms which he had used to block his chest. Within seconds, Cole was back on his feet and he thrust another fist, though this time, colliding with Acronix's palm. A smile curled up the man's lips and he used his other free hand to land a blow to Cole's stomach. The eighteen year old doubled over but had managed to strike a foot against Acronix's.

Meanwhile, Kai was standing beside Krux, carefully observing the fist-to-fist combat between the two. Soon, Cole had thrown many hits to Acronix and was standing firm compared to the other.

Kai let a couple more rounds pass before he narrowed his eyes at Cole, and the young man's metal hand halted to a stop just inches away from Acronix's face. Acronix sighed with relief and hastily dodged to the left when Cole made a switch to use his left arm.

"Hey!"

Everyone's heads turned at the voice.

"Step _away_ from him."

At first, Cole felt himself beam, knowing that Jay had realized Cole was in more trouble than he was. But it was him they were after, and he wasn't going to risk letting Jay or anyone throw their own lives at stake just for him. His smile quickly fell and he glowered at Jay.

"Get out of here."

The other ignored him and stepped closer. "Stay _away_ from my friend!" Jay only shouted louder, pointing his staff at the twins and Kai. Kai, being half controlled by the Overlord, sighed with pity.

"You have quite the imagination, Jay Walker." He shared a look with Krux and the other man knew exactly what the Overlord was asking him to do.

As Krux stepped up to Jay, Acronix kept Cole busy, going at another duel.

Krux against Jay.

Acronix versus Cole.

Jay swung his staff like a katana at Krux, glancing back at Cole every other second. That was a mistake, however, as soon, he found the staff stuck between his and Krux's grip - the question being, who would let go first? The member of the Golden Master pushed the staff forward and Jay's end of it collided with his chest he fell backwards at Kai's feet. The brunette shot his arms out above his head to yank Kai's ankles forward but was unfortunately best by Krux when he pulled Jay by the legs away from his leader.

After knocking Acronix against the wall, Cole rushed to Jay's aid, forcing Krux to turn around. Before Cole could land a punch, Krux, still holding onto Jay's staff, slammed it against the side of Cole's head, causing him to let go and fall back.

Kai curled his fingers and shut his eyes, gathering his voice before shouting what the Overlord told him to say. "Enough! I'm _sick_ of watching you all fight if neither of you-" he glared at Cole and Jay, "-will back down!"

Jay licked his lips, still on the ground. "You got that right, _Coward!_ … Since you're too scared to even show your face!"

To the side, Cole was leaning against a large wooden box, clutching his head as his vision continued to sway.

"What do you need Cole for anyways? And just so you know, you're never getting to him without going through _me_."

"You want to know? Alright." The Overlord took one large step closer. "Borg made Cole's arm using a power source that when united with its other half can bring unimaginable destruction." Jay's eyes grew wide. As the Overlord explained, Krux regained himself and steadied over to the fallen brunette, pressing his foot against Jay's back - pinning him to the ground. Jay clenched his fists in pain.

The Overlord's eyes cast a glance at Jay and he smiled slyly. At first, he thought that the Overlord's wicked grin meant that something awful was about to strike him, but he rethought every possibility when the eighteen year old beside him fell onto both knees, throwing his arm over the bionic limb.

Cole's arm was changing between blue and red before his eyes and Jay could do nothing but only watch with a burning passion deep inside. "Co-" he winced when Krux pressed his foot harder on his back.

Cole's head snapped to the left when he heard Jay's voice and he neglected his dysfunctional arm to worry about the young brunette instead. Jay was slowly losing consciousness.

Something inside him broke when his eyes fell on Jay. The boy had risked it all to save Cole, and though none of it worked in the end, he seemed like he hadn't regretted any part of it. Cole had lost his parents to the Overlord… and he wasn't going to let himself lose another innocent life.

"Let him go." Cole demanded, his voice loud and as clear as day. He forced himself to look directly into Kai's eyes. "You can take me. Just let him go."

Krux spared a glance to Kai, awaiting an answer.

"... Make sure he's completely passed out." The Overlord finally said.

Cole briskly gathered himself onto his feet and leaned against the box, weak. "I said I give in! Jay has nothing to do with this. No one does! Just take me and leave everyone else alone."

Kai ignored Cole's pleas and continued to look down on Jay with a wicked smile.

Cole dared to look away when Jay's head collapsed onto the cool, solid ground. As Krux stepped away, Cole's eyes wandered until they spied his gun just several feet away from him and he attempted to crawl to it when Kai wasn't looking. The second his real hand touched the weapon, Cole spun around and fired at Krux. Kai's glowing purple eyes landed on Cole and he reached behind him, pulling out his own gun. It was as if Kai was waiting for the perfect moment to finally use it… because before he could even react, the Overlord pulled the trigger at Cole.

* * *

 **When I say the Overlord, I mean the same thing as when I say Kai.**

 **Have a great rest of the week!**


	14. I Don't Do Letting Go

**Oh man, did y'all see episode 76 (sorry, had to correct it. My bad if you read it 77 before. At least it says episode 2 still so...) over the weekend? I cried, guys! I cried so much and I couldn't stop :') That part (won't specify which if you haven't seen it) was really the best and probably my new favorite Ninjago scene... I... I really love Cole. And this was only episode 2! Agh,,, plus I love the new intro. It may not be as cool or fun as the previous ones, but it's more mature and fit for the tone of this season.**

 **Anyways, finals are over and I can binge my favorite things over and over again, _and_ type up new chapters! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **~~Flashback~~**

 **About a year and a half before the attack on Palace Way.**

Jay sped across the sidewalk, the cool flick of the wind brushing against his cheeks, leaving a smile on his face.

It was summer and the young boy had promised to meet his friend, Lloyd Garmadon, in front of the library steps at 2 PM sharp. As usual, Jay had fallen a little behind as his parents insisted that he leave his brand new watch at home. Jay snorted at the thought - they had gotten it for him, so technically, he had the choice to do whatever he wanted with it.

For years, the two boys had been close friends, _best_ friends, sharing secrets, going to each other's houses, many of the times without warning, and helping one another out in school. And for several months, Jay had been noticing a downfall in Lloyd's usual character - his friend was less cheery and more caught up in his own world, confined inside his own little bubble. Jay, as Lloyd's best friend, felt obligated to do whatever it took to cheer him up. But the reality of it was that Jay never knew why Lloyd was feeling this way and he had no suspicions either. And the truth was, Jay would feel it was _his_ fault whenever Lloyd or anyone close to him wasn't acting like themselves.

As he neared the library, his eyes spotted a mess of blond hair and his eyes lit up with excitement.

"Hey! Llooooooyd!" The brunette neared and slowed to a jog. "What's crackalackin?"

The small blond haired boy puffed his cheeks out as he tried to hold back from laughing. A smile flickered across his face and Jay grinned. "Jay, who says that anymore?"

"Well, psh, I just did." His hands dove for his pockets and he felt around for some cash. At last, Jay pulled out his right hand and held it out for Lloyd to see. "I got ten bucks! Wanna get some ice cream?"

Lloyd knitted his brows in thought precisely and searched for the ice cream shop from where they were. "Hmm… I don't really know. My Dad doesn't want me spending so much on sweets. But I love sweet stuff! Oof-" The green eyed boy glanced up at his friend's freckled face.

Although Lloyd was older than Jay by just a couple of months, the brunette was significantly taller than him by an inch, which made Lloyd a bit annoyed at the time but he soon grew into the habit of asking Jay to do many of the things he didn't feel like doing, just to tease the kid.

"It's _my_ money. Not yours." Jay pulled apart from Lloyd and tugged his wrist forward. "Come on! Let's go get some ice cream!"

As the two boys made their way to the ice cream shop, Jay whipped his wrist out of his pocket and stared at the time scribbled on the watch. "What time do you have to be home by?" He asked Lloyd. His friend shrugged in response, looking a little in the dumps. Jay nudged his arm with a half smile. "You good?"

His half smile fell when his friend didn't say a word and only slumped more. "C'mon, Lloyd. We're buddies, you can tell -"

"Can I hang around your house a while after ice cream?"

Jay blinked stubbornly and cocked his head at Lloyd looking struck with shock. "Eh, yeah…? I mean, you always do."

"Yeah…" Lloyd murmured, letting his head tip forward. "I just don't really want to go home today…"

"What?!" The other boy jumped a little too dramatically.

Lloyd drew in a shaky breath. "My Dad's been pretty distant lately and, and he keeps driving to my Uncle's house every night! It's like he's hiding something from me, but I don't know what it is…" At the second Lloyd had drifted into his thoughts, Jay had opened the door and the two boys stepped inside - one grinning ear to ear and the other trapped between grief and happiness.

Jay bumped him forward to the ice cream choices. "That sucks. But hey, don't worry about it! He'll probably tell you what's going on sooner or later." He pointed to his two flavors of choice. While the lady prepared their cones, Jay searched for his bill while also flashing his friend a heartfelt smile. "By the way… my parents are making macaroni and cheese! You cool with that?"

Once accepting his cone from Jay, they stepped outside, back into the sun and Lloyd felt relieved as soon as the breeze hit him.

"Yeah."

* * *

 **Present**

She was on full on panic mode inside, worry coursing through her. Neither Jay nor Cole had responded to her calls. And while she thought at first that it could possibly be because of horrible signal, she took back every thought when hours passed and still no voice patched through. They should've been out by now… Or, they could've been in the hands of the enemy.

Nya tried everything one more time.

She squinted when light entered the room and she turned her head to her blond friend at the door. She took in the concerned features on Zane's face and raised a questionable brow.

"Flintlock has escaped."

"What?" Nya dropped her hand from the earpiece. "How? And _when_?"

Zane came closer as he drew his brows together in thought. "Earlier today, if I remember correctly. No one noticed until now." He pointed to the tablet by her hands. "Still no word from Jay or Cole?" Nya shook her head in disappointment.

"I'm getting worried, Zane. What if something happened to them?"

Zane nodded slowly, a bit confused. "Nya, we knew something like this would ultimately happen. We knew we were sending them into a trap-"

The woman shook her head gruffly. " _No, Zane._ " She said in a low voice. "They brought it upon themselves. Jay didn't want to, you heard him! But Cole insisted on going through with it anyways."

Zane was taken aback at Nya's words. None of that was true. Even he and Nya had agreed with Cole on searching the warehouse. He slipped a worried glance at the young woman and sat down beside her. "Nya… that isn't true."

"Of course it is, Zane! Of course…" She dropped her head into her hands and pouted. Silence filled the small room and Zane felt responsible to comfort Nya in any way he could. He reached out his hand until… "I'm sorry… I just… Kai's gone. I don't know if he's okay or what the Overlord's done to him. What happens after they use Cole for whatever it is they need? What will happen then?"

She dug her teeth into her lip, biting back tears. "He's so stupid and reckless, but he's my brother, and my only family left… And I love him. I don't want to lose him."

"Do not worry, Nya. We will get your brother back, I promise. I'm sure Jay and Cole will do whatever it takes to bring him back to you." He placed a hand over her back to let her know she wasn't alone. "If something happens to them, we will be ready and go after them ourselves."

Nya closed her eyes and breathed in slowly, calming herself. "I feel useless sitting around here when we could be doing so much more."

In all honesty, Zane did agree with Nya, but it was also a good thing that they hadn't gone with Jay and Cole. They were the backup while Lloyd was stuck in the hospital. Though he fully understood his friend, he shook his head anyways. As expected, Nya frowned ever so slightly. "I understand, but it's best that we stayed behind. If something happened, then we will be ready."

Without a word, Nya spun the chair to face the computers and she tapped on the earpiece. "Jay, Cole, is anyone there?" She waited a few minutes before giving into a disappointed sigh and looking to Zane. It was clear that something had happened to them, and in a split second, Nya shot up from her seat, stalking to the door.

She stopped in front of the exit and bowed her head, curling her fists. "You're right. We'll be ready. We're the backup. And _we_ will bring as much help as we can."

* * *

Jay couldn't remember what happened. His world had gone dark and that's where he decided to succumb to for the time being. The void of nothingness was welcoming, free of all problems. And it wasn't like he was dead… he was just, tired.

When he did begin to awake, Jay heard grunts and loud thuds coming from not too far away. They weren't so much of a pleasant welcome either to his ears. That was also when Jay felt the uncomfortable pain he was in, coming from his left arm. He snapped his eyes wide open and looked down to see his left arm crushed beneath the surprising dead weight of his own body. Jay rolled off and gave into staring at the ceiling, trying to recall past events.

Another grunt alerted him and he dropped his head to the right.

Cole Brookstone was throwing himself at the thick glass wall, eyes looking glossed with pain, fatigue, and anger. The young man had lost his grey jacket and was now fit in a simple white tee shirt, his arm half blue, half red. What caught Jay's attention the most was the large white bandage wrapped around Cole's upper torso, stained with dry blood.

The brunette forced himself to sit up, but as he did, he felt a tremendous amount of pain shoot through his stomach and he chose to ignore it the best he could. His eyes wandered back and forth as the other continued to slam into the thick glass, refusing to give up. Cole bumped into the glass once more, however this time, his eyes fell on Jay and a weak smile graced his face.

Neither of them said a word for the next two minutes. They didn't feel the need to - Jay could already see it all through Cole's eyes.

"I'm… sorry." Jay muttered, twiddling his fingers.

Cole threw a punch at the glass in another attempt to crack the darn thing and lowered his head, disappointed and crushed. He craned his head slightly to Jay. He looked so miserable, so beat, and so drained. "It's not your fault." Jay twitched.

"It _was_. _I_ told us to split up, _I_ found Chief Garmadon and you didn't. _I_ wasn't there for you when I needed to be."

"Jay, stop."

The brunette's head tilted upwards without a word.

It fell silent again and Cole was content that Jay had stopped blaming himself. At least, to him. He could have been screaming at himself on the inside for all he knew. Cole brushed over his knuckles gently and landed another punch, this time with his metal fist.

While Cole continued to bust their way out, even though it was obvious that it was a useless attempt, Jay scooted backwards until he hit the glass, bringing his knees up to his chest and flicking on his watch. The small gadget had been severely damaged during the fight, and anything that Jay could have done through it was hopeless now. For over ten years he'd had that watch, and now, it finally came to its end. He chewed on his cheek and gave into listening to Cole struggling to create a way out.

It went on for about five more minutes, till Jay finally scrambled to his feet and stepped closer to Cole, his whole body aching with every step. Jay fought the pain away, Cole stopped and turned to face the approaching ally. Jay raised his hand to graze a finger over the wound, his brows drawn nearer with concern. Cole flinched at the gentle touch and Jay drew his hand back hastily, dropping into a frown.

"You were… shot…" Jay said softly, letting his eyes fall to the ground.

Cole moved a hand over the bandage. "Kai, the _real_ Kai, patched it up while I was slightly unconscious… I'm, fine. Besides, they need me, right?"

Jay swallowed with uncertainty and then nodded halfway. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, then squared his shoulders and met with what he was used to be Cole's intense gaze, but was now just a pair of defeated green eyes. For once, he saw in Cole a friend, and to think he had doubted Cole since day one. The store, the party, the attack, the cake… all that made him realize how much he actually cared for the older ally and he didn't have a clue why he still felt a small ounce of hatred towards him. Maybe it was just because he hated how much better and cooler Cole was than him. Maybe it was because he didn't believe that a moody person like him could turn out to be such a nice guy. Maybe it was just because he hated accepting Cole as a friend. Or maybe it was because he hated the way he felt around Cole.

Whatever the case, he didn't care now. Jay threw his lanky arms around him, burying his face in Cole's chest, away from the wound.

Cole nearly stumbled backwards, taken by surprise by Jay's embrace. His hands wiggled free beneath Jay's grip and he stood for several minutes, a vacant look crossing his face. Without hesitation, he raised his arms to hold the young brunette closer.

And it felt nice.

He let his chin fall on Jay's head, hugging him tighter.

" _No._ " The young one murmured, sounding demanding, tough, and firm. Cole's brows arched high. "Don't _say_ that! They won't get you." He clung tightly to the fabric of Cole's shirt, adding the last part in a low whisper.

" _I_ won't let them get to you."

* * *

"Chief! Chief! Where is the Chief!?" Ronin cried, sprinting down the halls of the NPD. He paused when his eyes fell on a certain someone. "Misako!"

The lady spun around, brushing a lock of orange hair from her eyes, the top of a bag pinched between her fingers. "Ronin? What's the matter?"

"Where is the Chief?" He asked slowly.

She looked from Ronin to the bag, then back at Ronin. "I was just on my way to him."

"Let me come with. I found something that he needs to see."

Misako didn't mind and she led Ronin to where the Chief was resting. Definitely not his office - especially since Ronin had checked there already. When the door closed, Garmadon lifted a hand above his eye and peeked at his wife and colleague. He swept his feet off the stool and walked around to his wife, pulling her in for an embrace.

"Thank goodness you're back," she whispered into his ear with a gentle smile. Garmadon returned the fondness.

"Me too." He let go and cast a glance at Ronin before returning his gaze back to his wife. "Do you have the weapons?" He asked.

With a nod, Misako allowed the items in the bag to fall out onto the desk and she spread them out cautiously.

Ronin stared, astonished. "Weapons?" Ronin repeated. "Why did she have to sneak them in here?"

"Ronin, quiet. We're trying to keep this all on the down low as of now. The more people we get involved in this case, the more dangerous it could be."

"But… Lloyd's in the hospital, both Jay and Cole are _nowhere_ to be found… Chief, it's not just you, is it?"

The Chief scanned his eyes over the weapon choices and picked up a gun, checking it's amo. "Of course not." Ronin held his breath, hearing the _but_ in that sentence. "You're coming with me."

Relief flooded through him and Ronin let out his breath, crossing his arms. "I would've tagged along either way, Sir… But I found something that I think you need to take a look at."

Garmadon raised a brow and lowered the gun on the table. "What is it Ronin?"

The man reached for something in his pockets, tongue leaning out to the side while he dug. "Well for starters," he began, "Flintlock's escaped from prison. Just like Pythor, we don't know how." His eyes lit up the moment he found the object he was looking for and placed it on an open spot on the desk. "Secondly…" Ronin pressed play and a projected video of Cyrus Borg began to play before them.

"Cole's arm is one that I am the most proud of. We have successfully been able to use the power source that I located high in the Alps to create this, bionic limb." Borg showed the arm on screen. "It is stronger than most bionic replacement limbs we have created for other patients, but I believe that it will be of good use to Mr. Brookstone." He set the arm to the side and rolled closer to the screen, his expression darker. "But that's not all… the power source that I tracked from the Alps is extremely powerful. It has another _pair_ , if you were to say. A pair that if the two are united can cause unspeakable chaos and destruction. I don't know if the other power source has been found or not, but I have decided not to tell anyone, not even the Chief, about this new advancement, for this information is dangerous in the wrong hands." Borg backed up, letting the light shine through again, making the mood less serious. "Well,I believe it is time to begin the surgery on Cole-"

The screen glitched off and the room went dead quiet.

"The Overlord must have that other half of the power," Misako finally said, looking to Garmadon and Ronin. "And he has Cole too, right?"

Garmadon remained quiet, his mind trying to process the video he just watched.

"Garm, he has Cole, doesn't he? We need to stop him. Time's cutting it close." She glanced at Ronin nervously when the Chief didn't answer.

Stepping forward, Ronin said, "She's right, Chief. Now that we know what it can do and what the Overlord wants with it… we have to attack."

"No." He finally said.

Both Misako and Ronin faced each other with their mouths agape.

"Excuse me?"

"... How could Borg lie to me?" He continued as if he hadn't heard Ronin. "All these years. Did he think I was a part of those group of wrong hands?"

"Honey, it doesn't matter. Borg knew what he was doing. He had a reason -"

"I asked him several days ago about Cole's arm and if there was any other information that I needed to know, and he said that there was _nothing_ left I needed to know. He said that Cole's arm was just like everyone else's with a few adjustments here and there. Not that it was made by some crazy, unknown, element that could cause destruction!"

Ronin growled. "Chief, you need to forget about it. Right now, we need to focus on getting Cole away from the Overlord, because right now, he's close enough, and doesn't need to get any closer."

But Garmadon still couldn't believe it. Borg had been his friend since the longest time, and he hid all these huge secrets from him. He looked up and saw the pleading look in his friend's eyes, then the same in Misako's.

With a sharp intake of air, he straightened his back and faced them. "You're right. I can talk about this with him afterwards, but now, we need to focus on Cole and the Overlord.

Find me Nya and Zane."

* * *

Jay slipped into a battle stance as Flintlock approached them, gun in hand. He didn't even bother to ask how Flintlock escaped from prison. Beside him, Cole took one large step forward and growled low in his throat.

"What do you want?" He demanded, clenching his fists.

"Overlord wants to have a chat with you, boy." He shot his eyes in Jay's direction. "Not you, though."

Gritting his teeth together, Jay moved to position himself in front of Cole and balled his fists before his chest. "You aren't getting him without going through _me_!"

The mustached man only chuckled and stepped closer, a good chunk of the thick glass box opening into an exit. Or entrance, in Flintlock's case. He raised his gun and pointed directly between Jay's eyes, smirking under his bushy, dark mustache.

"Get out of the way, boy."

" _No!_ " Cole's eyes fell on the barrel of the gun and his eyes grew large. One move and Jay would be a goner, just like the last time Flintlock attacked. Jay gasped when Cole touched his forearm. The dark haired began to inch him away forcefully so that he could move forward to Flintlock. Jay found his words and snapped his head at Cole. "What, what are you doing?!"

"I don't want you to get hurt," the young man said under his breath, stepping outside of the boxed cage.

Jay watched as he felt a sharp pang in his chest and he ran to the opening as fast as he could, begging that he would make it out in time. However, just millimeters from the key to Cole, the glass mended, trapping Jay inside. He raised a shaky fist and banged it as hard as he could against the thick glass.

"Cole!"

He was still facing his friend when he shouted his name as loud as possible.

"Cole!"

Cole turned around as Flintlock instructed him to, his back to the brunette.

" _ **Cole!**_ "

As they moved further away from the box, Jay's voice became more muffled and distant, leaving Cole in pieces. He knew that the brunette would continue to scream his name out over and over, but Cole would be gone, and Jay would be alone.


	15. Don't Deal with the Devil

**C-Cuphead - Yo, yo, yo! Update for all of you fantastic people :) Thank you all so much for your reviews! Hope you enjoy the chapter AND Episode 78 of Sons of Garmadon this Friday!**

* * *

The moment the bullet had lodged itself in Cole's chest, Kai had collapsed to his knees, able to break away from the Overlord's control for just a few minutes. He wanted to crawl beside the dark haired other and scream at himself for being so weak minded. So weak minded for making a deal with the Overlord and for allowing himself to shoot Cole _again_. This time without a choice.

He never dreamed of hurting his friend in a way that could seriously injure him - that was if Cole even thought of Kai as a friend anymore. The last time he had shot Cole was on the day he was taken to prison, but that was when Kai only thought for himself and his sister.

Now, he regretted everything.

He wanted to take back all that he did and start anew. But that wasn't possible. Not anymore. At this point, he had no clue what his future would be now that the Overlord had Cole in his hands. He'd be lucky enough if the Overlord ended up sparing him, but the Golden Master gang had never worked that way. They took the lives of everybody, refusing to spare even the most innocent people.

He allowed himself to come back to his senses and remembered that he was locked in one of the rooms in the gang's hideout somewhere far beneath ground. It was hopeless to scream for help. The best he could do was make the most of his time away from the Overlord and everyone else. Because now, he was finally alone with himself.

He had no clue how Nya was holding up.

No clue what was going on above him now that Cole was at the hands of the enemy.

And no clue where to go from here.

Kai felt drained and exhausted and… lost.

He was trapped.

Unless…

He wasn't giving up. No. Kai ran to the doors, frantically trying to break his way out. He pulled out a pocket knife that he carried around with him and began to pick the lock, hoping that no one would come down here while he was at it.

After several picks, Kai got the door to open and he cheered quietly, poking his head out of the room. "Hah, guess they made a mistake leaving me here with this thang," he said proudly, wanting to pat himself on the back.

"Right. Time to find Jay and Cole."

* * *

Cole remained by Flintlock's side as they hurried down the stuffy hallways to meet the Overlord. At first, Cole was expecting to come face to face with the face of an ally, Kai, but when the doors opened and Cole was pushed inside, he was greeted with a sly smile upon the face of a stranger.

The Overlord.

The doors locked behind him and Cole was beckoned closer by the unfamiliar man.

When Cole felt like he was close enough, he raised his head at the amulet around the Overlord's neck and felt a knot in his stomach. The man glanced down at his pendant when he caught Cole staring and grinned, clasping it between his fingers.

Finally, Cole spoke, his voice low. "Overlord."

The pale man smirked at the mention of his name and he drummed his fingers on his thigh. "I've… Never met you in person before."

"Yeah, well, neither have I." Cole scowled.

"Someone is a bit… Moody."

The eighteen year old fisted his hands. "What do you want? With me?" He was sure the Overlord had explained something to Jay when they were at the warehouse, but Cole was too distracted by his fight with Acronix that he heard just a jumble of words. Especially after the blow to the head, things got worse. His eyes followed as the Overlord stepped closer to him gracefully.

"Your power," he whispered, caressing the pendant around his neck. Cole shuddered as he drew nearer. "Your arm was made from a powerful source. Cyrus Borg… Kept those things hidden from you."

"No."

"Don't you think it was fate, Cole?"

"And why would I ever think that?"

"As if your whole life was building up to this moment. You see that, don't you?"

"I don't need to, thank you very much."

"We killed your parents. You read about it, didn't you?" Cole froze. How did he know? "I planned the whole attack." He added confidently.

Cole shut his eyes and bowed his head. "No. There's no way. That was years ago. It just so happened that _your_ group hijacked a train that happened to have my parents riding in it."

"Hmm… Your arm. The day you lost it…" The Overlord furrowed his brows. "How old are you, Cole?"

"I'm… 18." He swallowed cautiously. "19 tomorrow."

"Interesting. That means tomorrow would mark exactly six years since the day you lost your arm and got it replaced with _that_." The man behind him motioned to the black arm. "You were attacked by one of my men, did you know?"

"No, that's not true." Cole was visibly shaking now, keeping his distance from the Overlord. "If I had been -"

"Ask Chief Garmadon if you don't believe me."

Cole's face paled. Had _everyone_ lied to him? Had they all just been hiding secrets from him his whole life? Cole shook his head defyingly and took an angry step towards the Overlord. "None of this is true! They were all just… Unplanned and, and… None of this means you planned everything! _None_ of this does!"

"Oh, no. Of course, the red of your arm was _definitely_ not my plan to corrupt it. The whole attack by Flintlock was definitely not my plan as well… And of course I didn't tell him to take Lloyd out… And I _definitely_ didn't leave that article of your parents lying around… my, _what_ a coincidence." Cole felt his heart skip a beat at that last sentence and he wanted to scream when all he could see was the Overlord only smirking back at him.

What, was he talking about?

It was as if he knew everything…

Like he had eyes everywhere.

Like… he was an overlord.

Cole didn't realize his breathing had grown heavier and faster, but when he did, he couldn't seem to get himself to stop. He hadn't even realized that the Overlord was closer to him now. Uncomfortably close. "I know where your friends are, Cole. I know what they're planning, but I sent a few of my best, loyal, _acquaintances_ to meet them halfway."

"I, I don't understand…"

"You see, Cole, eventually your "friends" will be marching up here with their little army, and by the time Krux and his team have rounded them up, what could be better than to test the power of the two sources united on them?" He snaked a hand behind his back, sparking interest in Cole. "And once they're out of the way… Well…"

"What about Kai? And Jay?" Cole caught himself saying.

The Overlord tilted his head at the young man and smiled slyly. "Kai's in, good hands," he began, rubbing the pendant, "and Jay…" He paused, leaning closer to Cole. "What would you do if -"

" _Don't_."

The Overlord leaned back, his hand still hidden behind his back. "I guess I _could_ spare _one_ life." Cole drew his eyebrows together and had the urge to snap back at the Overlord. He knew with no doubt that the man was lying.

However, before he could make another move, something thin and sharp pinched the back of his neck. His hand shakily rose in the air to feel around for the object, but it quickly fell, his body getting weaker every second. That's when he realized that it was a needle.

Someone had drugged him from behind while the Overlord was flawlessly conversing with him as if nothing was going to happen in the first place.

Cole wanted to laugh. He wanted to scold at himself for being so blind. But his everything was too weak to do anything right now and he found his legs giving in beneath him, weakly falling forward.

The Overlord caught Cole in his arms and hoisted him up, nodding to Flintlock - the one who had snuck up from behind and drugged him. Cole felt the Overlord pull him metal arm up and yank it with no regret. He didn't react. He couldn't really. He only lay there, lightheaded. "Say goodbye to your arm, once again, Cole."

* * *

"Alright, so we know they were last at the warehouse." Nya said, pointing to the spot on the map that represented the old place she used to play in with her brother.

"But the likely chances are that the two of them were moved," Zane added. Chief Garmadon was standing at the other side of the table, nodding to their words. "The problem is, none of us know where their hideout _is_."

Ronin's eyes looked over the map, carefully taking in every detail. "This man is probably expecting all of us to bust them anyways, right?" He slammed a finger to where Nya had previously pointed. "I bet that if we go to the warehouse now, chances are we'll find some kind of clue. Or even better, we'll meet one of the Overlord's little gang members there."

Chief Garmadon quickly caught onto what Ronin was getting at. "Of course! Then, we can force him-"

"Or her," Nya butted in.

The Chief cleared his throat. "Him or her, to take us to them. Good thinking, Ronin."

"Why, thank you. Compliments are very rare for me."

Nya rolled her eyes with a graceful smirk across her face. Her shoulders hunched when Chief Garmadon began to speak loudly beside her. "This means we must act quick. And carefully. They already have Cole-"

"And my brother," Nya added. "He's under the Overlord's control. The Overlord could use him against us, couldn't he?" Ronin caught the anxious look in Nya's eyes and he piped in.

"Just because he's your brother, that doesn't mean we have to go easy on him, Nya." He knew that didn't come out as reassuring, but what else could he say? He had known the siblings since they were young and he knew how much of a troublemaker Kai could be. The boy always acted fast without thinking, which led him down a steep hill, but sometimes he managed to pull himself back up. Though now, Kai had gotten himself into a heap of trouble that not even he could get the hothead out of.

"No. He's my brother. He would never hurt me."

Chief Garmadon shook his head. "Nya, the Overlord is-"

"I know Kai. He wouldn't let anyone lay a finger on me if it got me hurt."

"That's true," Ronin defended.

"It isn't that I don't trust you, Nya, but what happens if he can't fight the Overlord? We need to be prepared."

Nya opened her mouth to spit something back, but she came to the conclusion that Chief Garmadon was right. Though, deep in her heart, she knew that Kai could fight him. She knew that things like these usually took something worth of value to get a another to think clearly. And just as Kai was worth something to her, she was to him too.

All at once, there was a click at the door and everyone's heads turned to the sound - Ronin hovered his hand above the knife tucked in the belt, Zane kept both his hands tied behind his back, throwing stars dangling from his fingers, and Nya slipped into a fighting stance, arms out in defense.

The door fully opened and the three battle-ready people relaxed.

"Sorry I'm late. Mom had to come bust me out of the hospital when they wouldn't let me on my own."

The blond young man was tackled by his father, a winning smile on his face. "Lloyd! How is your leg?"

"Alright." His eyes scanned around the room. "What did I miss?"

"You are just in time actually." Zane stepped to the side so that Lloyd could get a clear view of the map. "We decided to trace Jay and Cole's steps back to the warehouse."

"Once we're there," Nya started, "it's almost a hundred percent guaranteed that we'll gain some clue to where they were taken."

Zane nodded firmly. "And if not a clue, then perhaps, one of the members of the Golden Master themselves."

"Awesome." Lloyd patted the side of his thighs with a confident smirk. "I brought my choice of weapons…" The others flashed theirs at Lloyd and he pushed the door open wider.

"Let's get this rescue started."

* * *

Pythor lay Cole on the table just as he would've been in the hospital when getting his surgery on his arm. He secured Cole to the table before moving to gather a few tools, leaving Cole alone in the room.

Or so he _thought_.

Kai ran in just as Pythor left, rushing beside the unconscious eighteen year old. "Let's get you out of here," he whispered to and unconscious Cole. His hands froze over the limp body and he said slowly, "And… I'm sorry." He was about to hurl Cole over his shoulder when he noticed that the dark haired was fastened to the table, unable to move, even though he wasn't to his senses.

Kai cursed at himself softly, having not thought this through.

"Thought I didn't notice you were gone? You really need to start cleaning any traces of yourself. You were one of Ninjago's top criminals, weren't you?"

Kai's blood ran cold and he kept his back to the man at the door.

 _Perfect timing_ , he thought sourly and sarcastically.

With a heavy sigh, Kai dropped his hands next to Cole and kept his back to Pythor. "Can't you let me go, just this once, Pythor?"

"I'm afraid not, my boy." Kai heard him growing closer. Soon, the man was right behind Kai and he pressed the blade of a dagger against his throat. "The Overlord needs you. You made a deal with him, isn't that right?"

The other growled and found himself defenseless without a weapon of his own. The dagger was so close to his throat that one wrong move could cause the the blade to slip up anywhere on Kai.

"Maybe next time, think through a plan instead of acting so quick." He forced Kai to turn around. "Let's take you back to the Overlord."

* * *

The brunette was sitting against the wall, extremely bored and without a single thing to do. He couldn't get it out of his head what Cole had done earlier and he wanted to scold at himself for not taking action. Instead, he stood there until the last minute and the doors closed on him before he could even try.

The sound of footsteps heightened his attention and he raised his head, gazing out of his imprisonment.

"What did you do with Cole?!" Jay demanded, eyes staring directly at Flintlock.

Flintlock stopped several feet away from the box. "I simply drugged the boy, nothing else."

Jay hopped to his feet and pressed against the glass. "You _what_?" Jay curled his fists. "Where is he now?"

"He's resting. Calm yourself." Flintlock put a hand on his hip.

"Resting? Like the good kind of resting?"

Flintlock scoffed. "What other kind of resting is there?"

"The boy is just looking out for his friend. Isn't that right, Jay?"

Jay's eyes drifted to the right where he saw another man standing not too far away from Flintlock. His dark purple hair covered most of his eyes and a cocky grin graced his features. Jay noticed the odd, shimmering, pendant hanging around his neck. _That must be the second power source_ , he thought to himself. "Overlord, right?" Jay started. "I made a promise to myself that when I see you that'd I'd beat you till you're _blue_." He waved his arms around to make clear the situation he was in. "But clearly, I'm stuck. In a box. Made of thick glass. Fun, huh?"

The Overlord stepped in front of Flintlock and curled his lips upwards at Jay. "Yes, it is nice."

"So maybe now that you're here, you can give me a better answer than that mustache dude?" Jay thumbed a finger at Flintlock. The man growled back at Jay but stopped when the Overlord threw a hand in out front of him. The entrance of the box reopened and Jay glanced from the opening to the Overlord, second guessing it was a trap. The man with black - purple hair waved a hand in front of the key to Jay's freedom.

So, the brunette stepped outside, wishing he had his weapons this very moment. He tensed when the Overlord steadily approached him. "Stay away from me," Jay said bitterly.

Flintlock readied a hand over his gun if Jay tried to do anything. The Overlord stopped Flintlock again and shooed him away.

"Clearly, Cole doesn't want you to get hurt." Jay scrunched his nose when his face was now just a couple inches away from the Overlord's. The man's grin grew unbelievably wide as he stared directly into Jay's worrisome eyes. "And I can tell you feel exactly the same way he does about him. _Shocker_."

Jay took one step back, then another, and continued while the Overlord moved in sync with him, staying in front of Jay the whole way through. Jay's breath hitched when his back hit the glass of the box cage.

"I could kick you right now!" Jay shouted, knowing it wasn't enough of a threat to the older man.

"Funny." Jay held his breath when the Overlord grasped his forearm tightly and pulled him away from the glass, closer to him. His shoulders hunched when he was closer now. "This pendant only gives me the power of manipulation," the Overlord sighed, "That's why I need the power in Cole's arm… I could... leave you in a room with the rest of my _friends_."

Jay shook his arm, attempting to pry away from the Overlord. Things were getting scary now. "Get away from me!"

"Or I could tell you where Cole is and let you see for yourself."

Jay stopped. He turned to the Overlord.

" _Excuse_ me?"

"There's a catch."

"See, _that's_ what I was waiting for."

The Overlord ignored him as his fingers curled tighter around Jay's forearm.

"You're _mine_. Just like _Kai_."

Jay winced. "Why don't you just leave me here in the box? Then I'd be one less problem you don't have to deal with." He scoffed back at the man.

"Talking back." Jay gasped in pain when a sharp object caressed his stomach. He looked down to see a knife pressed to his blue, dirty, hoodie. Slowly, the blade would cut through the cloth like it was nothing, and then, his stomach. "Lucky for you, you don't have a choice."

Jay shut his eyes when he felt a strange but sudden change in him. His thoughts began to cloud and he started to lose sense of where he was. _No. Jay, no. You can't allow this_. He tried to talk himself out of the Overlord's control, but it was no use. The power inflicted upon him was too strong and he couldn't fight back. He felt the knife gently pull away from him and the Overlord tucked it back into its holder, grinning ear to ear. He let go of the brunette, stepping back to allow Jay to gather himself.

"I suppose, it is a deal, then?" The man joked, awaiting Jay's response, thoughts controlled by the Overlord.

"Deal."


	16. Never Enough

**Hoo man, guys. Sorry, this was supposed to come out yesterday but it was Chinese New Years so we went to spend dinner with a bunch of other relatives from my mom's side at my great gramma's house, and then when we got home I went straight to watching Wonder and had no time for anything else. Let me just say, this movie is beautiful. I was meaning to see it ever since since I loved the book so much - please see this movie if you haven't.**

 **That being said...**

 **Who's ready for episode 79 today?! And who's going to see Black Panther? *cough*IAm*cough***

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Nya punched in the security code and the doors to the warehouse opened. The rest of the team trailed behind Nya as she crept into the warehouse, keeping her hands hovering near her weapons which were slung across her back.

She looked to Lloyd first, then Zane, and nodded and they split into smaller groups. Lloyd and his father took the left, Ronin headed for the right, and Nya and Zane stayed walking down the middle.

Ronin buzzed in his earpiece when he came to a shocking stop.

"Guys, there's _blood_."

Lloyd stopped dead and shared a glance with his father. "How much blood, Ronin?"

The man squatted down several inches from the trail of dried, maroonish, fluid, and his eyes followed the red. "A lot, but thankfully not _too much_. My guess is someone was shot."

Zane buzzed in just then. "We cannot analyze whose blood it is right now. See if you can find anything else, Ronin."

"Got it."

Garmadon strayed away from Lloyd to a mess of papers on the ground. _Oh no…_ he thought sadly, going through the papers. When he saw the article on Cole's parents, his heart skipped a beat and he prayed that Cole hadn't read that. No one ever told him that his parents had been killed in a derailing staged by the Golden Master. Garmadon didn't think it was right to tell him. The group had caused so much damage to the city that he didn't want Cole to suffer any more than he should. Then when he lost his arm… Garmadon shut his eyes and shook away the thoughts.

" _Hey, Chief G!" Garmadon turned around when the smaller boy threw his arms around Garmadon's waist._

" _Hello, Cole."_

 _Letting go, he stood proudly before the officer and blew a bubble. "Check out what else this arm can do!"_

 _Cole reached over to one of the outdoor cafe tables and wrapped his fingers around the pole of the table umbrella. With a tug, Cole managed to pull the umbrella off and he pointed the arched end at Garmadon with a grimace. "Umbrella weapon!"_

 _Garmadon chuckled wholeheartedly and lowered the umbrella. "That's nice, Cole, but this belongs on the table. I really don't want to have to pay for another item you either broke or stole." The boy frowned and tried to fit the pole back into its hole. "Where is my brother? Shouldn't you be with him?"_

" _He's… at the market buying things. I kinda ran away. But it's just for a little while!"_

 _When the umbrella popped back in, Cole whirled around and saw a twenty dollar bill in his face. "Why don't you go help yourself to something while you're there with him?"_

 _Cole beamed with delight, taking the money and bouncing on his toes. "Really?! Thanks, Chief G!" Another pinkish bubble popped in his face. "Maybe I could buy more gum!"_

His son's voice pulled him back into reality. "Dad, what's that?"

The Chief gathered the scattered papers and stood up, neatly stacking them back on the table. "Nothing, Son." He turned around. "Did you find any clues?"

Lloyd sighed, disappointment carrying his voice. "Nothing."

Nya pitched in, her voice fuzzy through the earpiece. "Looks like they finally showed up, Lloyd. Zane and I could use some help."

He shared a look with his father. "On it."

When the remaining three met up with Nya and Zane in the center, they saw on the other side of them stood Acronix and Krux and a few other people, weapons drawn.

Krux chuckled darkly and the corner of his lip tugged up. "Didn't you five _know_ you were walking into a trap?"

Confidently, Nya pivoted one foot forward with a growing smile. "'Course we did. How did you think we were going to find out where your hideout is, hmm?"

Ronin pulled out his said. "Oh, Sweetie, don't spoil the fun."

Krux cocked his head to the right. "Meet our good friends, Cryptor and Doubloon."

Zane twirled out his throwing stars and they all slipped into battle stances. "Bring it on."

Acronix charged at Nya, a blade swinging down just millimeters from her face. She leaned back and threw a kick at Acronix's stomach, launching him backwards in the process.

Krux went up against Lloyd and his father. Though two against one didn't seem like a fair fight, Krux had the upper hand as he brought with him a number of smaller weapons, while Garmadon and Lloyd had only their fists and a couple of guns. Krux tossed a small, spherical object their way and once it hit the ground, a mess of goo shaped as snakes sprung out, wrapping around their ankles and gluing them to the ground.

Lloyd made a face of disgust and fired at will at Krux.

"Do you like them? I made them myself." He asked the father and son with a satisfied grin.

"Hardly," Lloyd said through clenched teeth and continued to wiggle his feet out of the mess.

Zane didn't have time to react when Cryptor pounced at him, a chained weapon dangling from his grasp.

"I think I've seen you around before. Have we met?" Cryptor asked Zane slyly.

"I believe not." Zane jumped to the side when the spiked end of Cryptor's weapon headed for him. "But if we have, I think it would be right that you thank me for not taking you down earlier."

Cryptor scoffed and swung his weapon in a circle. "I do like your choice in fashion."

Ronin turned away from the others and saw Doubloon as the only choice left. They both drew their guns and fired away at each other on the battlefield. "Yanno, I never liked shooting people!" He shouted to Doubloon over the noise.

When Doubloon didn't respond, Ronin took it to keep talking. "We could stop the shooting and I could, mmm, I dunno, sell you something real nice from my shop? Something better than these." Doubloon still didn't answer. Ronin harrumphed. "Not much of a talker, eh?"

He ran around his wall of storage boxes and used them to sneak up on Doubloon.

"Gotcha!" He cried and pushed Doubloon down to the ground with his foot. "I can be quiet too, you know?"

When the rest of the rescue team had successfully taken down their opponents as well, Nya rounded them up and used a rope she had brought to tie them all together.

They began pressing them for answers.

* * *

When Cole opened his eyes, he felt… strange… like he was missing something.

In fact, he _was_.

His right arm was gone. Completely gone.

Hesitantly, he scrambled to his feet and gazed around. He didn't recognize this room. He couldn't even recall anything that had happened earlier. He only remembered the image of the Overlord's face, how he looked while Cole himself was suffering from the truth. He looked like he was enjoying it

Cole rushed for the door when he had enough of his thoughts. He fell onto the ground when his left foot wouldn't keep up with him. Cole rolled onto his back and trailed his eyes down the leg until they settled upon a thick, dark, chain, wrapped around his ankle.

"Figured you'd try to escape," a voice boomed from the door. Cole glanced over his shoulder at Flintlock. "Pythor and I have been taking turns watching over you. Seems you're finally awake."

"Where's my arm? And what did you do with Jay?"

Flintlock snorted and lifted a hand to stroke through his mustache. "Why, you're arm is in much better hands now," Cole snarled at him, "and Jay's unharmed."

"Unharmed? How am I supposed to believe that? Where _is_ he?"

"Like I said, boy, he's fine. We didn't kill him…" Cole held his breath as he glared at the man before him. "- _yet_." Flintlock added for amusement.

"My friends will realize what's happened and they'll come for me _and_ Jay." Cole began, pointing an accusing finger at Flintlock. "You guys don't stand a chance."

"Are they really your 'friends', Cole?"

Cole was taken back and he stood unresponsive.

He bit back his words and let his eyes fall to the ground sadly. Flintlock had a point, he hardly even knew any of them that long. They felt more like acquaintances and allies, rather than friends.

Flintlock raised his shoulders and folded his arms with a confident, wicked, smile. "I figured. You're only real friend is yourself. And… probably the Chief too, but once he's taken care of-"

"Jay's my friend too," Cole whispered, feeling a cold chill run down his spine when Flintlock looked back at him.

"Don't speak over me, boy." He started closer to Cole, "And you may want to reconsider that."

Cole felt his stomach turn and he refrained from punching Flintlock in the face right then and there. What did he mean by _reconsider_? Whatever the case, Cole managed to smile when a flash of movement caught his eyes. "Actually, you may want to reconsider not watching your back-"

"What?"

"- _And_ the element of surprise."

Before Flintlock could get another word out, he was struck in the back of the head. Cole visibly winced when the man fell forward to the ground.

"Cole!" Looking up, Cole met eyes with the Chief and before he could react, he was pulled into a tight embrace. Cole felt his heart leapt in his chest. Never had he been so happy to see Chief Garmadon since. He hugged Garmadon back, using his one arm the best he could to show how grateful he was. A few seconds later they pulled away. "What happened?-" His breath caught in his throat and everyone gaped at the right side of Cole.

It was quiet for a while. Everyone stared at what once was a bionic arm but was now nothing. Finally, Zane spoke up, his voice quivering.

"Your arm…"

Nya threw a hand over her mouth, her eyes large and filled with shock. "Cole…"

"Found these on Flintlock," Ronin butted in, twirling a set of keys around a finger. He bent down beside the chain and proceeded to unlock them.

Cole's eyes flickered to his right. "It's fine, I'm fine." He spared them a genuine smile. The chain and cuffs finally came undone and Cole kicked them away, stepping closer to the group. He was startled when Garmadon put a hand on his shoulder.

"We will get you a new one after this is all over."

He smiled at the officer hopefully. Cole still couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Garmadon, Lloyd, Zane, Nya, and even Ronin, had all come for him. He could see it all over their faces and he could tell that the rescue wasn't just out of thought to stop the Overlord - they had come to save him.

"How… how did you guys find me?"

"Acronix and Krux led us here, and I guess we kind of winged the rest of it on our own and found _you_." Nya said.

"It is good to know that you are not harmed, other than the arm," Zane said and returned the smile.

Lloyd held up a hand and raised a brow in question. "Hang on. Cole, where's Jay?"

"He's been _used_ for more _important_ benefits."

"Overlord!" Lloyd yelled and they all turned around at the man approaching them slowly.

However, the Overlord wasn't who Nya had found herself looking at first. Rather, it was the guy just slightly hidden behind him.

It was her brother.

It was Kai.

Her heart thumped in her chest. "Give me back my brother!"

The Overlord's head turned sharply at her. "Your brother made a deal with me and now he's mine." He stepped to the side, allowing Kai to come forward. "You wouldn't want to hurt your brother, would you?"

Nya's fists curled.

Just then, everyone moved so quickly that Cole had no time to process what had just happened.

He saw Kai moving towards them, swinging a fist flawlessly but missing, as Lloyd shot his hand out and caught the fist midair. Zane pulled out his throwing stars and aimed them for Kai. When Kai yanked his fist away from Lloyd, he swung his foot, tripping Lloyd. Chief Garmadon ran up and caught his son before he hit the ground.

Meanwhile, Ronin fired a bullet for the Overlord, but the man stepped aside and proceeded towards the door with his hands linked behind his back in a calm manner.

Cole looked back and saw that Zane was one on one with Kai.

Kai lunged for Zane but he jumped back and raised his throwing stars in the air. He released one of them and the fell, pinning the edge of one of Kai's pant legs to the ground. Kai rolled onto his back and went to tear the fabric but he stopped when his eyes met his sisters.

"Nya." He spoke brief.

"Kai!"

She wanted to hug him then and there when she knew a part of her brother was still somewhere in there. Nya inched closer, keeping her distance. "Kai, don't let him control you."

She was begging at her brother, pleading for him to fight the Overlord's control and come back to her. Knowing what happened last time when Cole met Kai, the brunette was only half under his control. He was forced to act in ways he couldn't hold back from doing, but he was aware of every single action performed.

To her surprise, Kai tore away from the throwing star and leapt to his feet, grabbing the fallen weapon. "Nya, we cannot keep talking to him without defending ourselves -" Zane flung to the left, having been kicked by Kai.

Garmadon shot forward, drawing his fist back and punching Kai in the lower part of his stomach. As he did so, Kai tossed the throwing star and it lodged itself on the upper part of Garmadon's left arm.

"Dad!" Lloyd cried and ran between him and Kai, pulling out his gun. He raised it to Kai's head, hands shaking. He and everyone else in the room knew he would never shoot someone in a way that it could kill them just like that.

Nya snuck up from behind and pushed Kai to the ground with her foot, then slammed a foot on top of him. It hurt her to do so, but Nya saw no other way around it. "Kai, please!" She tried again. Lloyd helped his father up and stared at the blood on his shoulder. Nya spoke again, her voice level and low. "You - you know me."

Kai stopped struggling under his sister's foot and he looked into her deep, brown eyes. "Nya," he started, his voice shakey, "I made a mistake. _I'm sorry_ ," he croaked.

The young woman removed her foot and fell to the ground beside her brother, lifting him into a sitting position. She wrapped her arms around him, fearing that Kai could snap back any moment.

But the strange thing was, he did not nothing. Nothing.

And Nya could feel her brother returning to her.

Kai's eyes closed. He could hear the Overlord throwing orders at him in his head, but Kai just sat and took it all in. He didn't care about the consequences, for there were none. Rather, he would be in the loving arms of his dear sister.

Cole, about to sprint to Nya's side, was stopped by Ronin.

"Follow the Overlord, Cole and find Jay." He pushed the gun into Cole's grasp. " _Go_."

Cole hesitated for a moment… but if he could find Jay… he simply nodded and dashed out the door.

When Cole rounded the corner, he spotted the Overlord entering a room and Cole followed silently. He pressed his back up against the side of the door frame, collecting himself before he bust in there. Feeling a surge of adrenaline, he spun in and laid eyes on the Overlord's figure. Cole immediately raised the gun and open fired at the Overlord. The man had obviously heard the bullet but he remained where he was looking calm as ever.

The bullet went straight through him, ripping a hole through his clothes and himself… but something strange happened…

Normally, you would've expected for someone to start bleeding if they were shot, but the Overlord's flesh was like some kind of… matter. It was like a Play-Doh, or some kind of goo, where you could punch a hole right through and it would mend back together. That was exactly what Cole witnessed.

His arm shook and began to fall slowly. "What-what _are_ you?"

The Overlords turned around, the look across his face striking fear in Cole.

"How's the arm feeling? Oh. Wait. You don't have that arm anymore." The Overlord crept closer and Cole remained unmoving. "I can't _wait_ to see what your power and my power can do. _Together_. Isn't that a relief, Cole? That I haven't done anything yet?"

Cole swallowed. "Why don't you just quit with the taunting and just get on with it?" He barked back.

"Hoo, feisty." The Overlord grabbed Cole's only arm and pulled him closer, then used his other hand to pry the gun out of his hand. "Where's the fun without a little torture?" Once the gun was out of Cole's grasp, the Overlord threw Cole against the ground.

" _Where is Jay?_ "

"Welcome to the party, Cole."

That voice…

Cole turned his head to the right, finding his words caught in his throat. Though, he was sure the expression on his face could speak more than just a couple of words ever could. Jay's eyelids dropped halfway and he managed a lopsided grin. "So glad you could make it."

Cole couldn't believe it.

He didn't want to believe it.

"I didn't hurt him." The Overlord said, directing Cole's attention to him. "Isn't that what you asked?" Cole blinked at the empty space on the right of him. He crawled back onto his feet and stood firmly.

"You have my arm - its power, isn't that enough?"

"You never learn, do you, Cole?" The Overlord flashed a malicious grin, and just as he did so, Jay's eyes intensely glued themselves on Cole. "It's _never_ enough. Nothing is ever enough."

"Let Jay go!" He readied himself for an attack when Jay reached for his waist.

"Mm… _no_."

In one swift motion, Jay whirled out a gun and fired for where Cole was standing. Luckily, he managed to dodge the bullet in time and he nearly toppled over - the joy of having one arm making it harder to balance. He caught his breath and hurriedly glanced over his shoulder just as another bullet rocketed towards him. Cole rolled to the side and bounced on his toes, eyeing the distance between him and Jay.

He didn't want to fight him.

He couldn't dream of taking on someone he didn't want to hurt. Someone he _loved_.

But the passion was building up behind Jay's cold eyes, and Cole could tell that the Jay he knew was no longer in front of him.

Cole just needed to find a way to get around the Overlord's control and to Jay. He needed to reach Jay.

A whiny growl emitted from the brunette and it diverted Cole's attention to him. The younger one stomped his foot, brows drawing nearer. "You're making this super hard, Cole!"

Cole had no choice. If he was going to get to the real Jay, he'd have to play along and fight him. "Well, you're not making this any easier, Bluebell." He grimaced and cut through the air with his foot, slamming it into Jay's side. "Sorry."

Jay scoffed in return, hurrying to ready the gun. Before Jay could act, Cole dove at Jay with his one arm and pried the gun out of his hand. He stumbled backwards and fiddled with the gun until Jay lunged at him, his arms reaching over Cole for the weapon. They fought until it flew out of both their grasps. Jay growled and shoved Cole back in one toss of the foot. The dark haired fell back onto the floor and heaved himself up on the one elbow, throwing both his feet up in the air, landing a blow to Jay's stomach.

The brunette gathered himself quickly just as Cole hopped back onto his feet. He swiftly dodged a punch and swooped backwards, counting a second time he nearly fell over. Jay glared at him with a furious scowl and yanked out a small stick for his utility belt. The stick grew longer, turning into a staff, similar to the one he had when he and Lloyd were facing Flintlock, and he rammed Cole against the wall with force stronger than Cole had imagined.

"Jay-" Cole's hand struggled to pry the stick off him, but he wasn't strong enough. At least, not right now, he wasn't. He yelped when Jay pressed the metal harder against him. Knowing he was definitely going to regret this later, Cole jabbed Jay's leg with his foot and the brunette stumbled backwards, using the staff to keep him up. Cole regained his posture and focused on Jay.

The guy was incredibly tough under the influence of the Overlord. Cole swooped under as Jay punched the end of the staff in his direction and jumped to the other side of his friend. Once Cole was behind Jay, he threw his hand over his friend's shoulders and grabbed one side of the staff. He used this to his advantage and pulled Jay against him, using the staff as a barricade. But one arm was harder without a second and Jay flipped their positions.

"C'mon, _Bluebell, Jay_ \- don't do this - ahhh!" Cole coughed when he was thrown to the ground.

As Cole curled on the ground, The Overlord neared his friend and he held a hand out to Jay. "He's yours to finish…" Jay took the gun out of the other man's hand and shot a hard stare at Cole, slowly raising the weapon at him.

Cole braced himself.

Jay pulled the trigger -

But nothing happened.

Cole grimaced from the ground. "Safety's on."

It took a couple seconds before Cole's words were fully processed and Jay scowled before him. "Not _cool_ , Cole."

Cole leapt to his feet and he started towards Jay. To his surprise, the fellow brunette wasn't doing anything about the safety lock. As Cole got closer, Jay's hand holding the gun began to shake. He saw Cole tentatively hold his arm out.

"Wait -" Jay sounded in pain, "-agh - _Cole_. Get away."

Cole blinked. He could see it in his eyes. The battle he was fighting against the Overlord's control. "Jay?"

The Overlord said with no emotion. "Your friend is _gone_ , Cole."

Cole growled. " _I'll do anything to get him back -_ "

Then, Jay's hand immediately rose up and he started to fumble for the safety lock. Cole stepped back, weaponless and defenseless. Jay heard a voice beginning to shout in his head as he struggled to pick the lock. It was his own voice. _He's your friend, Jay. You can't shoot him. You don't_ want _to shoot him...You don't want to hurt him._ Jay shut his eyes and lowered the gun.

His mind was conflicted.

He felt something grab his arm and he spared a glance at Cole-

The dark haired locked eyes with him, a hopeful smile on his face and finished,

"- And he would do the same for me."

* * *

 **Hoo, to think Jay could have actually shot Cole if it weren't for the safety.**


	17. What's My Name?

**Apologies for the day late update! I was trying to get this done Thursday but I started and finished the 'End of the F***ing World' and man, I was REALLY distracted. The you know, new episode yesterday! _I absolutely loved it!_**

 ** _Also, I decided to finish this story before I continue or start any new ones._**

 **Anyhoo, enjoy :)**

* * *

Jay looked deeply into Cole's hope filled eyes. Cole was counting on him to fight the Overlord's control. He trusted that Jay could do it.

Cole actually _believed_ in him.

And Jay knew he couldn't let him down.

Not now. Not today. Dare he say, not ever.

The gun clicked and Jay pressed the barrel to Cole's stomach, his finger, however, nowhere near the trigger -

But Cole remained completely calm. Jay may have tried to shoot him once, but the Overlord's influence then was stronger than it was now. He could tell.

" _Why aren't you running?_ " The brunette managed to spit out through tight teeth, looking to Cole with pleading eyes.

Cole only stood his ground, answering with a hint of confidence, "Because I'm not afraid. And you're my friend. I trust you."

Jay's eyes never left Cole's as he curled his fingers tighter around the gun.

It was strange. Jay's face was masked with anger, his brows drawn together as he looked at Cole with hopes of seeing him crumble at his feet. Though, Cole saw it differently. He heard Jay crying out to him with a strain in his voice, desperate to shake off the Overlord's power. He saw the fear swimming through Jay's deep pools of bright blue eyes. He noticed the trembling fingers and legs and wanted so bad to smack the Overlord back where he came from.

The longer Jay stared, the more he expected for Cole to make a move. He was more than disappointed when Cole did nothing, and Jay wanted to scream at him for being such a fool.

"Jay," Cole started, his voice level and Jay felt his heart clench. Cole sure wasn't kidding when he said he wasn't afraid. "I know you're in there. You can't let him do this to you. You can't let me fight you. I _don't_ want to fight you!"

"Cole-"

Cole continued, but this time, his voice dropped and he sounded desperate. Desperate enough that his voice cracked nearly every other word. "Lloyd still needs you. _I_ still need you."

Jay blinked. _Me…?_ " _You_ …?" Without another thought, he dropped the gun, seeming dazed and confused. A smile graced Cole's features when he saw that as a sign that Jay was, hopefully, himself again. Without another second to lose, Cole yanked his hand towards him, pulling the brunette into a firm embrace. Jay, on the other hand, was still trying to remember everything that had happened when he was under the Overlord's control. When the memory of him nearly killing Cole came back to him, he raised both arms, hugging Cole back like there was no tomorrow. He wanted to stay like this forever, but a voice reminded him that was not possible -

" _Touching_." The voice swooned sarcastically.

Jay's head snapped up and he whirled around briskly, pointing an accusing finger at the Overlord. "You!" The Overlord stood there with an amusing smile, feeling accomplished with his work of forcing Jay to do what he did. Just hearing the Overlord's name sickened him. He balled his fists, intensely eyeing the man. "You _used_ me! You made me fight Cole! I almost _killed_ him because of you!"

The Overlord's grin grew wider. "I'm afraid… It's too late…" He lifted the small power source that came from Cole's arm and slipped it into a place beside the second source in his pendant. As a dark aura enveloped the Overlord, Jay took one giant step forward, ready to gift him with a fist to the face. Before Jay could take another step, Cole threw his hand out around Jay's arm and pulled him back.

"Jay, don't."

Jay tried to wriggle his arm out of Cole's firm grasp, but his regular arm was surprisingly just as strong as his bionic arm. "He's right there, Cole! We have to stop him!"

" _Jay, no!_ " Jay frowned. If Cole wouldn't let him go, then he would just have to drag him with him. Jay mustered all his strength and moved one foot, pulling Cole with him just a tad bit. Cole clenched his teeth and tugged on Jay's arm, forcibly causing him to turn around. "Jay, stop! This isn't your fight! He's not -"

In seconds, Jay was hot on his heels, already wrung out of Cole's hold and running directly at the Overlord with a fist drawn back. Cole snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Jay screaming.

"Jay, wait!"

Ignoring Cole's warning, Jay drove his fist straight through the Overlord and it created a hole that soon closed itself back up. The expression all over Jay's face fell almost immediately and he took one step back, gaping at the man before him.

A shiver ran down his spine when he heard a low chuckle coming from the man who had taken advantage of him.

"You really thought you could stop me?"

* * *

Ronin stared at Kai's limp body on the ground with his head cocked to the side. He raised a hand and scratched the back of his neck, eyeing the Chief. "Er, so what now? We can't just leave him here like that. Especially with _him_." Ronin thumbed over his shoulder at Flintlock.

When it seemed like Kai had become his old self again, he collapsed in Nya's arms, looking beat. For the past minutes, the five members of the rescue team huddled around Kai, thinking he'd wake up sometime soon. During that time, Lloyd had also chained Flintlock where they previously found Cole tied up to. For the safety of them all.

Several feet away from Kai, the Chief was standing against the wall with Zane beside him, tending to the wound on his shoulder. Zane patted gently over the injury and said, "Ronin is right. One of us should stay behind and cover for Kai while the rest of us search for Cole and Jay. I assume that by now, Cole has found Jay."

Finally, the Chief spoke up, his voice soft. "Nya," he started, "stay here with him. The rest of us will find Cole and Jay."

The young woman glanced up from her brother and hesitated to nod. "I want to help too."

Lloyd raised his hand suddenly and stepped in front of Nya. "I'll do it. I'll wait here with him."

"I'll stay too," Ronin added.

Nya was taken back and she stood up straighter, turning Lloyd around to face her. "Lloyd… I can't ask you guys to do that… Lloyd, Jay's your best friend, he needs you there. Besides, Kai's my brother, I should-"

"Nya, I want you to go. You and Kai have been running, hiding, and stealing for pretty much your whole lives. I know you've changed, and I know you're a better person now. Heck, you're strong, smart, and determined - you wouldn't stop bugging me at the party about trying to get in on this case… So please." Ronin looked from Lloyd to Nya and then back at Lloyd. He was sure Nya was at a loss for words at this moment. Suddenly, Lloyd stepped closer to Nya and leaned in close, whispering into her ear, "Besides, Jay's got Cole." Giving Nya no chance to talk back, Lloyd picked up a gun and twirled it in his hands, crouching beside Kai. "I've got this."

"Lloyd…" Nya's eyes fell to the ground, finding it hard to search for the right words.

"Hang on a sec, Sweetheart." Ronin stepped between them, opening the fold of his coat. "I took several of Krux's little 'bomb' experiments. They could come in handy, take them."

Chief Garmadon took them from Ronin. "Smart move, Ronin."

Lloyd jumped to his feet. "Wait, Dad, you're actually going to face the Overlord- but you were hurt real badly."

"Son, Cole never deserved what happened to his arm. He didn't deserve to be locked up in jail, he didn't deserve to lose his parents…" The Chief swallowed slowly, "Every _day_ I blame myself for those things. I think to myself, I could have done something to prevent it all." Lloyd was shocked at what he was hearing. His father had never told him any of this. He never _knew_. He wish he knew.

When he finally understood, he pulled his father in for a hug and whispered softly, "The past is the past, but future is what you make of it," he smiled. That was one of his Uncle's wise quotes, just a little modified, "You can't keep blaming yourself. It's not your fault. You got this."

* * *

Frustrated, Jay swung another punch, this time at the Overlord's chest. He let out a sharp cry as his other fist drew back and shot right through his side.

"My, my, someone's-" Jay threw both his hands in the direction of the Overlord once more, anger flashing in his eyes. "Keep trying. It won't work." The man clasped both his hands around Jay's wrists and lifted him off the ground, grinning at him wickedly. Jay kicked his feet in the air, squirming in the Overlord's strong hold. Quite suddenly, the Overlord bumped his head forward against Jay's hard, and Jay let out a shaky breath.

Cole scanned the ground for any tools he could use against the Overlord, and when his eyes fell on the staff Jay had been using earlier, he picked it up and began to stride closer to the other two. When he was close enough, he slipped into a battle stance, his only hand straight out in front of him with the staff firmly locked between his fingers. "Let him go, Overlord!"

The man shook his head all while laughing wickedly. "It's sad, really, how you believe you can defeat me with just a _staff_." The Overlord snuck a hand around Jay's belt and pulled out one of the blades, flashing it before Jay's leg.

"Ah!" Jay cried when a blade dove deep into his thigh.

Luckily for him, Jay was still able to swing his unharmed leg back and kick through the Overlord's stomach. The man did not react to the blow and he only lowered Jay to the ground, pinning him there with a foot over his chest. Jay sucked in air and puffed his cheeks, trying to ignore the pain every time the Overlord pressed down harder. Whenever he opened his eyes, he saw the Overlord glaring back at him with a gleam of joy in his eyes. Jay tried to use his hands to relieve the pressure, but the Overlord held them down over Jay's head against the ground. Jay tensed when the Overlord lifted a hand and brought it closer to Jay's face, a purple glow emitting from the center of his palm. "Do you want to be my first test subject?" Jay shut his eyes and threw his head to the side, feeling himself losing consciousness.

Cole couldn't bare much longer and he charged for the Overlord, driving the staff directly through him. The man flew back and at the same time, the pendant broke off his neck and landed on the far side of the room. When it seemed like the Overlord was down for some minutes, Cole dropped to his knees beside Jay and ran his fingers over his chest where the Overlord had pressed down on.

"You okay?"

"What do _you_ think?" Jay wheezed, sparing him a lopsided grin. The brunette then groaned and put a hand over his forehead, squeezing his eyes in pain. Cole sighed in defeat and moved his hand down to his leg.

"Bluebell," Cole said softly, a gentle smile on his face. Jay opened one eye and smiled back up at Cole, chortling.

"Don't call me that… Not now, at least." He let his head collapse to the side again and he closed his eyes, taking in the pain.

However, that didn't last long since Jay's attention was soon grabbed by Cole when he heard: "Jay, you're hurt-"

"I know." He spat, but it only came out as a soft whisper and he resorted to a nod instead. His hands rose to his throat and he coughed weakly.

"Jay…" Cole's fingers tightened around the cool metal of the staff when he saw Jay go pale beneath him. His head snapped up when he saw a smidge of the pendant from the corner of his eyes. Cole hustled to his feet and let go off the staff, looking from Jay to the Overlord to the pendant. If he could get to the pendant before the Overlord did…

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Cole," The Overlord spoke as he used the wall to get back on his feet.

The Overlord was back on his feet, the match now fair with the Overlord's pendant gone. Cole stepped in front of Jay in defense.

The young man jumped when the Overlord stumbled back, a hand over his side, having been shot at twice.

"Cole!" At the call of his name, Cole looked over his shoulder to the door and he _smiled_. Garmadon, Zane, Nya, and Ronin were all there in one piece. Well, not quite…Cole acknowledged the garb over Garmadon's shoulder and his stomach dropped, feeling guilty for not being there for whenever Garmadon was injured. "Get the pendant! We'll get Jay outta here." Nya shouted to him, keeping the gun at eye level while Garmadon and Zane dashed to Jay.

 _Right! The pendant -_

Cole spared a quick glance at Jay before he sprinted to the fallen item. He was so close when something grabbed his ankle and yanked him backwards and he fell hard on the ground. Cole groaned and hoisted himself up on his one elbow.

"Not so fast." Cole looked over his shoulder at the Overlord.

Or… what was left of the Overlord.

Nearly half his face was gone, it looked… melted and completely distorted. Cole couldn't find the right words to describe it. All he knew was that this wasn't the same man he was up against earlier. This was someone totally different.

"What are you?" He asked for the second time.

"Let's just say… I'm something not entirely human."

Cole's eyes grew large and he looked to Nya. To the side, he saw Zane and Garmadon helping Jay up and towards the exit where it was safer. "Nya, what the hell did you shoot him with?!"

The young woman let her arms come down and she overlooked the gun in her hand with a shrug. "I… I dunno. When we questioned Acronix, he told us that there was some kind of weapon we could…" She gasped. "The Overlord… they told me how to weaken him… Cole, it weakens him!"

"Apparently messes him up too…" Jay added jokingly as Zane helped him stand and let him lean on him for support.

Cole grunted as he tried to scoot closer to the pendant using the only arm accessible to him at the moment. In fact, the whole fight had been a lot harder with only one arm. Cole never got used to working without his bionic limb and now that it was gone, he felt even more vulnerable to the Overlord. He stuck his hand out and yanked the pendant towards him, holding it close to his chest. Putting on the pendant for himself crossed his mind for a split second, but he didn't know what kind of power it held, nor did the Overlord himself. Cole felt around for a tool as the Overlord was still recovering.

Meanwhile, Garmadon had turned around and motioned for Zane and Nya to follow him. Jay began to panic inside. "Wait - wait, wait! We can't just leave Cole here by himself! The Overlord's got an advantage over him!"

Nya stopped and closed her eyes, saying, "You two get back to Ronin and the rest and take Jay with you. I'll help Cole."

Jay limped in a half circle. "I want to stay and help too!"

Zane pulled on Jay's bloody sleeve. "Jay, you were stabbed and you do not look so good. You cannot stay here."

"He's absolutely right, Jay," the Chief told him.

Jay moved away, closer to Nya and looked them all dead in the eyes. "He's my friend. And… I made a promise that I wouldn't let them hurt him-" Jay yelped when a blade was thrown in front of him and the others. Jay tried to backup but found he was trapped between Pythor and his blade.

"Pythor…" Chief Garmadon said with disbelief. He had forgot that the greedy man was a part of the villainous group.

"Did you forget I was here? Ooh, that's a bummer, really," Pythor hissed into Jay's ear. The brunette shivered. He leaned to the left when he felt his thigh getting worse. The Chief quickly grabbed his forearm and kept him upright.

The Overlord growled, looming over Cole. He dropped his hand out in front of the eighteen year old. "Give me the pendant, or Pythor will slit their throats, all of them, right here."

Cole got up to see the Overlord better and he turned his body away, hiding the pendant. He cast a glance to the others. Pythor drew the blade closer.

"Cole, don't give him the pendant!" The Chief cried. Cole swung a leg through the air, but the Overlord grabbed it before it collided with him and he spun Cole around. Letting go, Cole flew back against the wall, still holding onto the pendant. He curled and tried to unlock the accessory to take out the power sources, but he found them clamped together.

The Overlord was inches away from him now, putting his hand out. "Give it to me now or it's the end for all of them."

Jay stared between the two as he struggled to formulate a plan before the Overlord got sick of waiting and it would be off with their heads for all of them. Moving at quick speed, he elbowed Pythor in the ribs and ducked beneath the blade, rolling forward but gaining his balance. The others did the same and stood beside Jay. Zane managed to snatch one of Pythor's weapons as he rolled under and he held it in front of Pythor, the tip just millimeters from his face. The Chief opened his palm to Nya and pointed to the gun which was loaded with substances to weaken the Overlord.

Nya handed it to him and the Chief tossed it to Jay. "Go help Cole, we'll take care of Pythor." Jay nodded and started for the Overlord but was stopped by Zane.

He opened his hands and handed Jay Krux's lab 'bombs'. "Wait. Take these. I don't know what each one does but Ronin said they would help."

"Got it." Jay stuffed them in his pockets and sprinted towards Cole, sliding between him and the Overlord and fired at him. The Overlord staggered back and held the lower part of his body, feeling the surge of the chemicals rush through him.

Cole took Jay's open hand and the brunette pulled him back up, now side by side.

"No way am I letting you fight him alone," Jay scoffed and shoved a couple of the 'bombs' to Cole. Cole wrapped the pendant around his wrist and took the lab made materials from Jay. It was now a game of keep away, and he had a feeling he knew who the winners would be.

Sparing Jay a smile, he said, "I got your back, Bluebell."

The corner of Jay's lips quirked up and he nudged Cole. "And I got yours, Brookstone."


	18. I Wanna Hear it Again

**Ahh, two more chapters left after this. There's only 20 in this entire fic. Heh, I was supposed to post this yesterday, just like last week, but I got distracted since Voltron S5 came out yesterday - and get this, Episode 81 came out right when I started the final episode of S5. A lot went on after the whole TV show marathon...**

 **Earlier I had a thought that technically, Krux's lab bombs are just like those of honey Lemon's from BH6. Just something to help you guys out :)**

 **Anyways, here it is!**

* * *

While Jay and Cole were busy with the Overlord, Pythor took this as his chance to escape, and he started to make his move. That was until Chief Garmadon stepped in front of him, hands houghtly on his hips.

"Not so fast, Pythor. Either you give yourself up and I can take you back to your _cozy little_ prison cell, or-"

"Oh, I think you know which option I'd rather prefer, old man."

Nya hissed from behind the Chief and she raised a fist at Pythor. "Hey! No one calls him that!"

Zane found his throwing stars tucked in a safe spot around his hips and he whirled them out as Pythor began to back up, looking like he was coming up with a plan. And quick.

"Enough waiting around. Let's just get this over with," Nya grumbled and swung the blade forward. Pythor ducked to the right and used his foot to tip Nya off balance.

"You know, it's a shame, really-" he began as the blade flew up into the air and he caught it by the hilt, "- Clouse could have been so much help."

Nya scoffed and drew back her arm, raising a brow in question. "And who's that?"

"He was a friend. Quite powerful, if I may add." Zane leapt over Pythor, striking the man from behind. "You wouldn't have stood a chance against him."

Zane quirked a brow, chuckling softly to himself. "Are you trying to say that he is stronger than your leader?"

Pythor scowled and swung his fist for the young man's face. Zane threw his hands up and caught Pythor's hand between them and between the throwing stars. With a smirk, he let go and kicked the man back, spinning the sharp weapon in his hands satisfyingly. The other man looked down at his hands and saw blood drawn out of them. As he raised a fist at Zane, Nya slashed at Pythor's side and the man doubled over.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Zane prepped his throwing stars and tossed them towards Pythor.

Unfortunately, Pythor moved out of the way and the throwing stars embedded themselves onto Garmadon - one on the other shoulder, and another on his side.

"Chief Garmadon!" Zane ran over to him.

Garmadon winced at the blood and groaned. "It's… it's okay." He sighed. "First, it was one shoulder; then, not just the other, but my side too." He cupped a hand over the side wound, feeling the blood seep onto his hand.

Meanwhile, as Jay fired another shot at the Overlord, who dodged the bullet by just inches, Cole was making a mess of the circular contained substances all over the place. Having only one arm didn't give him a great trip when he tried to hold all the things at once. Jay stepped in front of Cole as a shield, holding the gun at eye level with the Overlord. He quickly looked over his shoulder at Cole.

"Hurry up with those!"

Cole ground his teeth together in frustration as he scrambled to pick some back up. "I'm _trying_ , but I can't do much with one arm!"

"Just throw one!"

"I don't know what it'll do!"

" _We don't know what any of them do!_ "

"Fair point." Cole dropped the load he had tried to carry and picked up one of them instead. Filled with a red, thick liquid inside, he threw it over Jay's head and it landed perfectly at the Overlord's feet, causing a smoke explosion.

When the smoke cleared, what was left was a jelly like substance, hugging from the Overlord's feet to almost his knees. Jay let out a breath of relief and he turned to Cole with a grin. The brunette held his hand up high and Cole did the same out of curiosity and by chance, Jay slapped his hand against Cole's in a celebratory high-five. "What? Too early to celebrate?"

Cole stared dumbly for a split second, running the high-five through his head. Snapping back to reality, he rolled his eyes and picked up another ball, tossing it up and down.

"Eh," he answered and chugged the lab mix up at the Overlord.

After the explosion, the Overlord shifted before them in the sticky trap and he stretched an arm out at the two friends. His eyes caught a glimpse of the pendant hanging from Cole's wrist and an idea sparked in him. He took in a deep breath and shut his eyes gently, concentrating on the power he held earlier. He ignored the hit when another object was thrown at him. He felt the ooze around his legs beginning to harden.

"Gah, where's the one to freeze him?" He heard Jay complain.

Eventually, Jay and Cole both slowed their attacks when they realized the Overlord wasn't making any attempt to break free.

"What's he… doing?" Jay asked nervously.

Cole shook his head and picked up another. "Doesn't matter. I'm sure one of them here has to be able to freeze him."

"Cole, this is feeling a little too easy." Jay took a step closer to Cole when a purple mist outlined the Overlord's eyes. "Cole!"

Jay gasped and his eyes snapped wide open as he stumbled backwards against the wall, dropping the gun.

"Jay!" Cole dropped the object when a light shone out of the pendant. He spun around at the Overlord and saw him snickering with a gleam in his eyes. Suddenly, Jay's hand stiffened around his arm and pulled him back with force against him. "How are you still controlling him? You don't have the pendant!"

The man laughed with ease. "Some of the power of the two combined linked itself with me. I don't need a silly pendant or those little _gems_ anymore, Cole." Cole watched as Jay tore the said object off Cole's wrist and tossed it to the Overlord. He simply caught it and put it back around his neck, smiling sinisterly at Cole. "But it doesn't hurt to have this back, does it? It belongs to me, just like he belongs to me." He waved his hand over to Jay.

Cole wrangled his arm away from Jay and he slid by him, propping himself back on his feet in no time. He didn't have to worry about the Overlord at the moment since the man was trapped in whatever it was that Krux had whipped up in that lab of his. In the meantime, he kept his eyes trained on Jay, back to stage one where Jay was under the control of the Overlord and Cole was just trying to get his friend back. Only, this time, Cole didn't even bother to talk Jay out of it.

Knowing every ounce in his body would regret it, he grabbed Jay by a shoulder and yanked the brunette closer to him. Before Jay could react, Cole collided his head with the other's and let go, watching as Jay wobbled around. There was no way Jay could stay awake after that. The wound on his thigh had already messed with him a little and he was positive the Overlord's control over him drained most of his energy. Jay's eyes blinked once, then twice, and he began to lean backwards. Cole caught Jay's hand before the brunette was able to hit the ground and Cole lowered him onto the ground slowly. With that out of the way…

He picked up the gun and lightly kicked an icy colored blue 'bomb' at the red substance around the Overlord. Cole raised the run vertically beside his head and stalked towards the Overlord. He angled the gun directly at the Overlord's demented forehead and held down the trigger, and made daring eye contact with him.

"You hurt me, that's one thing. But you hurt my _friends_ …"

The Overlord grimaced at him. "Still trying to find your place in this world?"

Cole's stare intensified. "I already have."

"There's so much more to you, Cole."

Cole ignored him.

He released his finger.

The minute the bullet was settled in the Overlord, he wildly threw himself back in an arch as his loud screech cut through the air. Cole, showing no visible reaction to the Overlord's cry, tore the pendant off his neck and threw it on the ground, crushing it beneath his foot. When that was done, Cole switched the gun out for the blue object he kicked to the Overlord and dropped it just between the other man's feet. Within seconds, there was ice covering every inch of the Overlord and he was stiff as a statue. Disgusted, Cole poked the frozen man and he fell to the ground, shattering.

 _Good riddance,_ Cole thought bitterly before crouching down beside Jay and wrapping an arm under him. Mustering all his remaining strength, Cole lifted the brunette up, up, up and dragged him to the others. Garmadon brushed past him and kicked at the pieces of the Overlord that were scattered all over the ground. Zane was holding Pythor close to him with the man's hands tied behind his back. When Cole dropped Jay's unconscious form on the ground, he sat down beside him and ran a thumb against Jay's forearm in pity.

Nya and Zane exchanged a knowing look after they peered down at Cole. "Ronin patched into me. Said he called the authorities and that they should be here shortly."

"Good," Chief Garmadon bellowed from the center of the room. He was still observing the pieces. "We need to get this cleaned up and somewhere safe." He stood back up from his crouching position and scanned his surroundings. "And… investigate… this place."

He turned to his younger allies, laying eyes on Cole especially.

"Get outta here. And meet the police and ambulances at the front."

* * *

 **Next Day.**

Kai and Nya were seated patiently in front of Chief Garmadon's desk.

Just recently, everyone was getting patched up in the hospital while the police took care of the Overlord's pieces and his little gang too. Lloyd, Jay, Zane, Kai, Nya, and Ronin, were all on the same floor at the hospital. Cole, on the other hand, had left with Borg to his building to work on the new arm.

When Kai and Nya were both released from the hospital, they shared a long hug like they hadn't seen each other in forever. Nya was just joyed to have her brother back, and Kai was just happy to be back.

All was going fine until Chief Garmadon called them in.

The door opened behind them and the Chief strode towards his desk with a tray holding three mugs in his hands. When everything was settled, he slid one mug each to the siblings, and one for himself.

"Hot chocolate." He said to them with a smile.

Kai picked it up and blew over the steaming liquid for a couple seconds before taking a sip. He hastily lowered the mug when his tongue flinched back at how hot it still was. "You're going to throw us in jail? Aren't you?"

Nya let her eyes fall onto the ripple in her drink. "Kai-"

"We deserve it." The brunette pushed his mug further from the edge.

Garmadon looked between the two. "Actually, we had something different in mind. But if you believe you deserve to be sent to prison, I won't stop you."

Nya glanced upwards. "We?"

"Yes, we." He cocked his head to the door and Zane soon stepped into room, a genuine smile gracing his features.

"Zane!" Nya cried.

"It was, Zane's idea, actually. He proposed an offer to allow you two to _not_ go to jail, but instead, work for community service hours instead. Zane would be your supervisor." The corner of Garmadon's lips raised. "And you could make a couple rights from wrongs while you're at it."

Nya spun around to her brother and was surprised to see him struck by the offer. "I can give you two a moment to think about it. But I will need an answer."

"No." Garmadon blinked, confused. "I mean," Kai shook his head dumbly. "we'll do it. If it helps to redeem ourselves for all we've done, we'll do it."

Nya looked away from her brother and at the Chief instead. "Thank you, Chief Garmadon."

"Oh," a smile spread across his face, "Don't thank me. Thank, Zane."

* * *

Jay met Cole just outside of Borg's lab. It wasn't too far away from downtown New Ninjago City, and Jay had asked if the two of them could hang out at the cafe again, like they did before the whole Overlord ordeall. It was kind of terrifying to ask since Cole was in another near death experience just the day before, and Jay just didn't think the day right after would be the perfect time for all that. But it was Cole's birthday - _what a lame excuse_ , he thought miserably. He kept telling himself that whenever he started to question himself for prompting Cole to join him. After all, the first time at the cafe wasn't exactly his idea, nor was it Cole's. It was more, Lloyd's.

The minute the doors swung open and Cole stepped out, Jay kicked himself off the concrete wall and slid towards Cole with a smile on his face. He noticed the new arm and awed.

Just like the old, it was covered in many blue lights, but they formed a sort of wave pattern along the side of his arm and cut off short below the elbow. The main difference from the old was how spotless and sleek this one looked. If you had looked hard enough before at Cole's first one, it was easier to point out all the scratches, but now, because of its shiny, reflective surface, it was almost impossible to tell if Cole so happened to gain so much as a light graze.

"Not going to lie," he started, looking over the replacement limb, "but that new arm looks way cooler than the one you had before."

Cole fancied his eyes over it, picking up every single little detail. "Yeah." He flexed his fingers for the first time with his new bionic arm and felt a smile tickling his lips. His shoulders hunched when Jay elbowed his other arm.

"On the bright side, you don't have to worry about an Overlord chasing you down anymore, right?" Jay saw Lloyd heading their way and he stopped immediately.

The blond waved to the two of them. "Hey, Jay." He turned to the other and nodded at the new arm. He lifted a fisted hand at Cole and offered him a friendly smile. Cole, having been very confused at first, raised his own hand and they bumped their fists together. Cole felt… relieved.

"Happy Birthday, Cole," Lloyd said. "How's the new arm feeling?"

"Better than the old," Cole told him.

"Where are you two heading?"

"The coffee shop downtown!" Jay blurted out.

"Someone's in a good mood," Lloyd noted with an approving nod. "Hey, Cole, may I, speak with Jay? Alone? It'll only be a while." Cole nodded and stepped away, letting the two friends talk to themselves for the time being.

"Sooooo what's up with Kai and Nya?" Jay asked him.

"From what I've heard from my Dad, Kai and Nya have offered their time to community services. They're still under close surveillance." Lloyd suddenly slung an arm around Jay and whispered to him, "Mind if I ask you next?" Jay leaned his head to the right. "You asking Cole, huh? What's this? Some kind of date, maybe?"

Jay immediately dropped his eyes from one of the poles he had been staring at and glared at Lloyd. "What?" He asked, almost too loudly - Cole gazed back at them. Jay's face flushed; he couldn't believe he was getting so worked up over that question. He cleared his throat and continued. "No… _No_ ," he said defiantly, "I just wanted to… you know, it's his _birthday_." He managed a little awkward laugh.

The blond squeezed Jay's shoulder before patting him on the back with a doubting "mhmm" as if to tell him he was a terrible liar - to everyone and himself. He spun Jay back around before leaving them. "Good to see the new arm, Cole. See you two later," he called to them.

Jay turned around to wave goodbye to the blond, then caught up with Cole, who had already begun pacing himself. Several minutes later, Jay had whipped out his phone and stuck a pair of headphones into the jack, popping on in his ear, leaving him able to hear whenever Cole would say something. He thought it'd maybe take his mind off his mini conversation with Lloyd earlier. He kept his phone screen tilted towards him and pulled up one of those bounce games that went on endlessly. Every other minute, Cole would steal a glance at Jay, a little worried as to why the brunette was holding back from a conversation. Cole dove his hands in his pockets and was incredibly upset when he found he hadn't dumped some gum in as he thought he did.

Cole cleared his throat suddenly, earning the brunette's attention. "So what made you want to hang out today?"

"Oh." Jay was taken by surprise; he stuffed his phone in his coat pocket and kicked a stone on the ground. He fought the whole 'it's your birthday' excuse and said, "Just… last time we were there, we didn't really get to spend a whole lot of time together." He shut his mouth when the words came out the way he hadn't intended them to. He felt it starting to grow warm under his collar. "I, uh, I mean our time got cut short, so… yeah."

" _You_ , actually want to spend time with _me_?" Cole gasped dramatically.

"Well, yeah. You're cool," Jay muttered.

"What was that?"

Jay looked around quickly as if trying to ignore his comment earlier. "Nothing. It was nothing."

"It so was something. What did you say?"

"I already said - nothing."

"If it was nothing, well you know that's still something."

Jay shot Cole a piercing glare. _Dang, you._ He thought in a bitter-friendly kind of way.

Cole continued. "Theeeen are you gonna tell me why you want to spend time with me?"

"Just…"

"Juuust what, Walker?" Cole shared with him a teasing smile and all of the sudden, Jay knew what was up. He gasped and threw a punch at Cole's shoulder. Cole dodged it with a laugh.

"You knew what I said! You were just trying to get me to say it again!"

"Yeah, whatever." Cole stretched his arm out and curled his fingers around the handle. "We're here."

Jay took one step inside before turning to Cole. "Happy Birthday, Cole."

* * *

 **Random, awkward, note: Love, Simon in less than two weeks! Happy March everyone XD**


	19. Leaving So Soon?

**Ahh, Thursday chapter? Just like how it originally was supposed to be.**

 **I'm actually going to see one of my school's musicals in an hour or so and episode 82 comes out tomorrow but I'm also going to a friend's sleepover birthday party - so it's going to be pretty hectic. Might as well get this out today :) One chapter left!**

 **The first part of this chapter may sound familiar ;) 'cept it's from Jay's perspective.**

* * *

 **One month earlier**

Jay couldn't believe he let Lloyd drag him into this. In fact, he couldn't believe he was actually committing to this! He flinched when his friend bumped his arm and dragged him inside.

"Relax, Jay. My Dad said he isn't a bad, _bad_ , guy. Just stay close to me."

Jay shivered and inched closer to Lloyd. "Trust me, I'm not going anywhere."

When they met Chief Garmadon at the front of his office, he motioned for them to follow to where all the prisoners were being held. "Why do we have to do this?" Jay whispered to Lloyd.

Unfortunately, for him, the Chief heard him and calmly responded with, "Because, Jay, while Cole was here, I came to the conclusion that you two would be the right fit for the job "Besides, you two fight for good, right? You're on our side, so why not give the new fellow a look at what that's like? Hm?"

Yeah, they were two of Ninjago City's beloved heroes, and yeah, they were the most trusted in the eyes of the NPD _and_ Chief Garmadon… but at a time like this, he wished he _wasn't_ a well-known hero. If that was the case, chances were he wouldn't even have to be here.

They passed many already occupied cells, one of them holding a criminal named Pythor, until they finally reached Cole's cell. Oh, how Jay felt like it was the end of the world as he new it. He made sure to stay close to Lloyd as they drew nearer, sometimes wanting to grab a fistful of his coat and latch onto it, never letting go.

Jay's eyes flickered to Cole for a brief moment, wanting to see just how dangerous he really was.

Gum. A prosthetic arm and intense green eyes.

"Congratulations, Brookstone." Garmadon said calmly, stepping forward. "You're free to go."

 _So, Cole Brookstone._ Jay said in his head.

"You're joking." Cole finally said, giving Jay a taste of what his voice was like. He glanced at the Chief nervously and the officer dangled a ring of keys from his hand.

"Am I?"

Jay resorted to chewing on the inside of his cheek when Garmadon opened the cell door. It was a nervous habit of his. _No._ He wept behind a mask of confidence.

Cole stepped closer. "What's the catch?"

"Ooh, you sure are smart, Brookstone." Chief moved out of Cole's view and nudged Jay and Lloyd forward. "Meet your new roommates."

Jay listened tentatively as Cole spoke to Lloyd and commented on his favorite color, green. Lloyd hated when people did that. He wasn't paying attention when Cole strode closer to him, chewing his gum with a gleam in his eyes. "Oh gosh." Jay muttered softly.

"And who are you?"

Jay hesitated for a moment. "J-Jay Walker."

His chest tightened when he heard Cole scoff. "Jay Walker? Were you born a jaywalker or what?" Garmadon pointed a finger at Cole and warned something to him before the former criminal looked back to Jay. "So, Jay Walker?"

"Y-Yeah."

And Jay swore he saw a smile inch it's way across Cole's face.

* * *

 **Present Day**

The truth was, Jay had been counting down the days he was going to be stuck with Cole since Day 1. However, time slipped by and when the whole Overlord problem came crashing down on them, he had forgotten all about it. Correction, he _lost_ track of where he even was. But that didn't matter to him. At least not anymore, and he knew for a fact that at least a month had already flown by-

 _POP!_

Jay spun around sharply at Cole, who was standing by the kitchen counter, twirling a fork in one hand and holding up a plate with a slice of delicious chocolate cake on top with the other.

"I'm taking this upstairs." He stated like it was a well known _fact_.

The brunette shot up from his chair and hustled over to Cole, scrunching his nose. "Nooooo. You are _not_."

Cole set his dish and fork onto the counter as he blew another large bubble and reached for the plastic bag behind him. Pulling out the slender comic that was tucked inside, he held it before Jay and grinned smugly. "I found that comic issue you've been begging to read."

Within seconds, the comic was snatched out of his hands and the younger teenager was already seated in the living room, carefully taking the comic out of its plastic. He heard Cole cough to grab his attention and Jay was flustered. "Fine, uh, go do whatever you want… as long as it doesn't bother me and my precious comic!"

A grin found its way across Jay's face as he heard the patted footsteps of Cole climbing up the stairs. "Thanks, ya doofus!" Jay called out to him.

"Anytime, Bluebell!" Cole shouted back at him.

Jay smiled wider. He hadn't fully acknowledged it, in fact he refused to, but he knew the feeling was there. He knew that he liked Cole. Clearing his mind, Jay peeled the comic open and awed at all the close attention to detail and took a big whiff of the smell of a new comic. Getting much more comfortable on the couch, he kicked his feet up so that he could press the comic against his thighs and read all huddled up on the couch.

Minutes passed and all was quiet. Jay was able to get through many pages, sometimes stopping and envying all the art in a single frame. He wished he could do that. In fact, drawing wasn't really a top skill of his - he was great as many things, and unfortunately the one bad thing he just had to be horrible at was drawing.

Jay patted his back gently with a pout and continued to read.

"Hey, Jay."

Jay nearly jumped up from his position. _Aw, come on, man. I'm almost halfway._ He lifted his head from his comic book and spared a glance at Lloyd. "Hurh, can't you see I'm busy, _Lloyd_?"

The blond rolled his eyes and chuckled. He stopped when he noticed the cover of the comic his friend was reading. "Heeeey! Is that -"

"Yep. Now go!"

"Where'd you get it?"

Realizing that Lloyd wasn't going to leave him alone for the next, supposedly 15 to 30 minutes, Jay sighed and put the comic on his lap, turning to his friend. "Erm, Cole gave it to me."

"Cole gave it to you?"

Jay shrugged carelessly and pointed at the comic. "Can I finish reading now?"

"Hang on a sec, Jay. My Dad wanted to talk to you about something - well, both of us."

Jay cocked his head, "What about?"

Lloyd's eyes swept around the living room as if to check for someone before he dropped his voice into a whisper and said, "I think it was something about Cole." A few seconds of silence passed by and Lloyd was worried that Jay hadn't heard him. Finally, Jay answered.

"Oh." Was all Jay said in reply.

Relieved, Lloyd threw on his coat as he made his way to the door.

"Wait," Jay said, this time sounding a little more startled, "Cole? What… what about Cole?"

Lloyd hadn't seemed to have heard him as he continued to march to the door. He waited for a couple minutes before turning back to Jay, who was still sitting comfortably on the couch with a comic book in hand. Jay noticed the silence and he looked up to his friend, raising a brow.

"Oh. Wait, you mean _now_?" Lloyd nodded. "Like right now, now?"

"Get up! Let's go!"

* * *

Kai thrusted his stick to the ground, puncturing an empty chip back. He dumped it into his giant trash bag before quickly blowing into his palms, the heat from his breath, caressing the skin.

It was January and it was only getting colder. He has bundled himself up in layers and layers of clothes while his sister on the other hand had on a beanie and a scarf as the only other accessories.

"Having fun, Kai?" His sister asked from afar.

The brunette shrugged. "It's cold, but it's better than prison."

"Hah, couldn't have said it better myself," she said and threw in a piece of trash. "Gosh, I can't believe people leave so much junk here."

Kai snickered and shook the dirt off his stick. "Good thing we're here to clean that up, right? Wonder what Zane will have us do next."

"The faster you work, the sooner you will find out, Kai." Zane said to him with a smirk.

Nya laughed and nudged her brother's shoulder with a teasing grin. The two of them talked for a bit as Zane worked on the other side of the park. Though Zane was on supervision duty, he wanted to help too and picked up his own stick and trash bag, picking up the little things Kai and Nya would leave behind.

When Zane was out of ear shot, Nya turned to her brother and shared with him a questionable look. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Without looking up, Kai nodded. "Wassup, Sis?"

Nya waited a moment before finally asking, "How did you let the Overlord get to you? Why didn't you run?"

Kai tensed and he froze, looking at the grass beneath his feet. "He offered me something I couldn't resist. I acted too quick. Like I always do."

Nya frowned, walking up behind her brother. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder and turned him around. "Mind if I ask what that was?"

Kai's eyes met with Nya's and he spoke slowly, "He said he would give _us_ happiness. You, me, we'd be happy and we wouldn't have to keep running." Kai lowered his head. "I know what I - we did in the past was wrong and I'm tired of that. Honestly, I'm sorry, Nya."

She squeezed his shoulder and spared him a smile. "I would hug you like crazy right now and yell at you for being so thoughtful yet so impetuous at the same time… but…" She jerked a hand over Kai at the man approaching them.

"Hey."

The familiarity in his voice grabbed Kai's attention and he spun around quickly, almost nose to nose with Cole. He took a step back when he noticed how close they were. Kai dropped his head and sighed. "Hey to you." He stuttered. "What are you doing here? Don't you have some restraint or something?"

"Lloyd got rid of it and let me do whatever. I think he trusts me now." Cole said in an almost question like fashion and the two cracked into laughter. "So what are you doing here?"

"Oh, well Nya and I-" when he looked over his shoulder at the mention of Nya he realized she had gone and moved over to Zane. Kai shrugged it off and shook his head. "We're doing community service stuff."

"Instead of prison? Lucky duck," Cole harrumphed.

"Hey, Zane thought of it. Wasn't the Chief's idea."

Cole rolled his eyes and tucked the gum to the pocket of his right cheek, a hand on his hip. "Zane's a cool guy."

"He and Nya already look to be great friends." Kai cast a glance at the two of them. His brows came closer together when he saw the two of them smiling and laughing. It made him think. And in some cases, thinking was bad. In others, it was good.

His whole life, Nya had been his only true friend. Then, Cole came along, and Kai took to using him for his own benefits… when they lost him to the hands of the NPD, that was when Kai really realized that he had thought of Cole as a friend after all. He just never showed it. And he never acknowledged it.

The brunette looked back at Cole and he raised a hand, combing his messy hair. "It's been a long time, and you probably still hate me for doing it but… Sorry I shot you in the foot."

Cole blinked at Kai. The brunette felt a pang in his chest when the other made no move to respond and he feared that Cole had forgotten about it and that Kai had been the one to dig back up the old memory. He began to think that he had made a mistake bringing that old memory back from months ago. Cole was just standing there and Kai felt petrified.

"I've been waiting a long time to hear those words." Cole snarked.

* * *

"Chief Garmadon," Jay said, taking a seat beside Lloyd.

"Hello Jay," he slid a bowl of cookies baked by Koko to the two of them. Jay happily took four and munched on them as Lloyd shot him a stare.

"What's up, Dad?"

"As you both remember, or so I hope, I said that Cole would be living under your care for about three or four months." Jay and Lloyd nodded. "Well-"

"Does this mean that you cut it down to… two months? Maybe? I dunno?" Lloyd asked.

"I wasn't finished, Lloyd."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Lloyd sunk in his seat.

"But, yes. I have decided to cut down Cole's time-" Lloyd and Jay both shared a look, "-but not to two months." Jay swallowed. _What?_

"This weekend."

Jay's head screamed again. _What?_

"Cole's… not staying with us anymore?" Jay repeated out loud and unknowingly. The two Garmadon's caught the hint of disappointment in his voice and they exchanged a worried look.

Lloyd then cast a glance to Jay, looking worried and gazed back at his dad. The Chief and Lloyd shifted in their seats uncomfortably. "Er, yes, that's right, Jay." He waited a moment but Jay only muttered a soft ' _oh_ '. Garmadon cleared his throat and continued, "I know this must have been too soon, but Cyrus is hosting an outdoor picnic party in a couple of days. You're all invited."

"Dad, what does that-"

"Have you told Cole?" Jay asked as if Garmadon hadn't said a thing. Lloyd's eyes shot wide open and he kicked Jay's foot under the table.

" _Jay_."

"Sorry, I just-"

"It's alright, Son," Garmadon told him and turned to Jay. "That's where the party plays in… I was going to tell him then." Jay muttered something softly. " _Or_ … you could. If you wanted to."

"Me?"

Jay fixed his eyes on the picture frame on the Chief's desk and thought. He thought hard. Who was he kidding? It would crush Cole's heart once he heard the news. And Jay didn't want to be the one responsible for that. Jay suddenly froze and he held his breath, taking a moment to rethink all he just thought.

That wouldn't mean anything to Cole. Nothing other than freedom, that was. Cole had been dumped in prison for eight months and then forced to be stuck with _him_. Living on his own was probably the best thing to happen to him since… but why had Jay thought that? His breath caught in his throat and he swiftly looked to the Chief. He noted how patient the Chief was being with him currently, but yet he still rushed himself to come up with an answer.

He went through his thoughts over and over, trying to come up with a reason as to why he thought that Cole, out of all people, would be the most heartbroken when the news was out. He ran across every possibility, every excuse in his excuse book, until he came across one last one. One he wish he hadn't considered. Because he didn't want to believe it.

Cole wouldn't be the one who would be devastated.

It was him.

Because it would crush _his_ heart.

And he used Cole as a cover up.

Jay wanted to fist the ends of his hair and scream as loud as he could, thinking that his mind had gone crazy.

A familiar voice pulled him back into reality and he glanced worriedly at his friend. "Jay, you got an answer?"

Jay paused for a brief moment, then shut his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts. When all felt subtle, he said to Lloyd, slowly and surely, "Lloyd… you tell him."

After they left his father's office, Jay went into complete silent mode, looking everywhere but at Lloyd. He looked like he was thinking deeply of something, and all Lloyd could get out of it was that it had something to do with what happened at the police department.

"So."

Lloyd cleared his throat, getting the brunette's attention. "Do you wanna talk about anything? You know, you and quiet don't quite go together." Lloyd joked, hoping to spark a conversation and get a few answers out of Jay.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired. Coffee?"

Lloyd cracked a smile. Jay always brought up foods and drinks whenever he was trying to avoid something. Lloyd knew him all too well to fall for that. "Coffee only if you tell me what happened at my Dad's work."

"Nothing happened. I'm totally _cool_ ," Jay assured him.

"Yuh, huh." Lloyd fixed a stray strand of hair. "You know if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm all ears. We've been friends forever, Jay. Whatever it is, I bet you I'll -"

"Fine." Jay huffed.

Lloyd was startled by Jay's response. He hadn't thought it'd be _that_ easy to get him to talk. He nodded and urged Jay to keep talking.

"What do you do if you think you like a guy, er, person," Jay kept his shoulders hunched, "like, like, _like_ them." Jay continued to ramble before Lloyd could answer. "Because when Chief Garmadon told me that I could tell Cole - I realized something. Well, more like finally accepted it, but that's not the point."

Jay's voice was beginning to shake and he started to talk at a fast pace.

"Jay?" But the brunette hadn't seemed to have heard him.

"The thing is." Jay said firmly. Lloyd held his breath. "Is it weird I don't want Cole to leave?"

Lloyd blinked. Boy, had Jay said _that_ at lightning speed, that all Lloyd heard from that were the words 'weird' and 'leave'. He stopped his pacing and Jay stopped beside him. "Say that again?"

Jay looked Lloyd straight in the eyes as if to say, _Please, don't make me say it again._

But Lloyd's expression said otherwise.

 _Right, Jay. You got yourself into this mess. There's no such thing as a free pass._ Lloyd raised a brow. _Especially from your best friend._

He deeply inhaled, gathering himself before calmly putting forth, "Is it weird I don't want Cole to leave?"

"Oh. No…?"

Jay continued to stare at him.

"Were you hoping for me to say something else?"

Jay's stare grew softer and he relaxed, shying away. "No," he mumbled under his breath.

His friend detected the quavering in Jay's voice and he started to piece things together almost immediately. When the full picture clicked in his head, he wrapped an arm around Jay and turned his friend around to look him in the eyes.

"Jay-"

"I think," he started, building up the confidence, "I mean, I _know_ I have a crush… on Cole."

Lloyd opened his mouth to speak but Jay cut him off.

"It was better I say it first."


	20. Ferris Wheel

**GAH BUSY WEEKEND... AND WEEK. ANYWAYS GUESS WHO HAD A BLAST AT THE MOVIES (it was actually pretty hectic cause there was a power surge on Friday during the movie - LIKE THIRTY MINUTES INTO IT - so we had to come back on Saturday to watch it)**

 ** _'LOVE, SIMON'_ IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER, OKAY. IT IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE NOW. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT (AND HUGELY IMPORTANT TO ME), BEAUTIFUL, AND INSPIRATIONAL. IT IS A FREAKING MASTERPIECE. I COULD TYPE UP A WHOLE *insert number here* PAGE REVIEW ON IT. AND YES I SAID IT. FIGHT ME. (The last scene of this chapter was actually inspired by this amazing movie)**

 **Now for the sad news... this is the last chapter :')**

 **Thank you all so much for the wonderful support of this fic. I couldn't have done it without you :) It really means a lot to me. Thank you so so much for everything. It's been a great 20 chapters to share with you all and I hope to share more new ones with you sooner or later! I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have, and enjoy reading this final chapter :)**

 **Love, Me (see what I did there?)**

* * *

Jay gently pushed the door open, poking his head out. He slipped out of the room and made his way into the kitchen, his mind set on getting a breakfast. It was unbelievably quiet in the house and Jay was beginning to wonder that Lloyd and Cole had left somewhere without him. Lloyd had spent the night at their shared home last night, though technically he spent the entire week not at the Garmadon's house, and Jay was oh so thankful for the company.

He had begun to grow more _flustered_ around Cole. The weirdest part was that he often found himself throwing compliments instead of comebacks at Cole. Sometimes, when he did bite back at the older man, he found them strangely odd. Even Lloyd could tell.

"Good morning to you too," came Lloyd's voice from behind.

"You're here? Wow. I uh, I thought you left somewhere." Jay cleared his throat. "Er, morning."

Lloyd waltzed into the kitchen and put a hand on the counter, leaning against it. "Jeez, really, Jay? You _always_ think that." He opened one of the cabinet doors beside him and tossed a box of cereal in Jay's direction. Jay opened his mouth to speak but Lloyd cut him off instantly. "We're out of milk, by the way."

Jay shut his jaw and nodded. "Right. Thanks."

"Hurry and eat up. Party starts at noon."

"Mhmm," Jay agreed, pouring the cereal into the bowl. He reached to his right and whipped out a spoon, dropping it into the bowl. He slid into his seat, breakfast in front of him and started to eat. "More like picnic party, if you ask me. It's super sunny outside, and it's winter!"

"Still pretty cold though!" Lloyd called back to him as he slipped out of the kitchen.

When Jay finished his breakfast, he got up from his chair and started for his room, with a granola bar in his hand. As he made his way to the stairs, he passed by Cole's room and a thought crossed his mind.

He hadn't seen Cole since he woke up and Jay started to wonder if he was okay. Every morning since the Overlord, Cole had one snarky comment to hit Jay with. And this time, there wasn't one.

Jay stopped in front of Cole's door and just stared at it, questioning what he was doing and what he was about to do. Without even realizing it, Jay held his breath and raised a hand before the door, bracing himself to knock. He started to countdown in his head, starting from 5. The second he hit 1, his hand dove to give the door a steady knock.

"Uh, Jay. What are you doing?"

The brunette threw his hand up in the air and jumped backwards, scanning the hall for the blond who had scared him.

"Lloyd! _What the heck_ , man?!"

His friend leaned casually against the other side of the hall with his hands in the pockets of his dirty green hoodie. A wicked smile crossed his face and Jay wanted to slap him.

Lloyd simply laughed in response while he looked Jay up and down. The fellow brunette was still in his pyjamas. "Go get changed, dude. We gotta leave for the party soon."

"I was just about to -"

As if Lloyd knew exactly what Jay was going to say, he butt in, saying, "Cole's not in there. In fact, he isn't even here."

Jay blinked out of confusion. "Huh?"

"I dropped him off at my Dad's earlier. He wanted to have a word with Cole." Lloyd fixed the hood and turned around. "Chances are, he's at the party already-"

"Oh. Well, okay," Jay pursed his lips in a slight pout and started for his bedroom to change out of his nighttime clothes.

"-waiting for his _Bluebell_."

Jay spun around on his heels and glared daggers at his friend. The boy in the green hoodie stood there with a hand over his mouth, trying hard to hold back from snickering. " _Lloyd!_ What do I have to do to get you to shut up about this?"

Lloyd mumbled an 'I don't know' and walked away casually while telling Jay for the umpteenth time to get changed.

—-

"Do you think Cole knows?" Jay asked Lloyd nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

Lloyd flexed his fingers on the steering wheel and shot a glance at the mirror for any cars. The two were just a few minutes away from the park and judging by how many stop lights they had to get through to get to where they were now, they would probably be the last ones there. "Do I think _Cole_ knows?" He repeated. He almost fell into laughter once more. "What kind of a question is that?"

"Gee, thanks, Lloyd."

The blond shook his head and cracked a grin, making a sharp turn to the right. "You being serious right now? Have you seriously not been paying attention to anything this past month?"

The brunette blinked. "... No?"

"Why don't you just go tell Cole you like him yourself, huh? Just tell him once we get there."

Jay scrunched his nose and pointed an accusing finger at Lloyd. "But what if- you know, what if things don't go 'swell'? What if something bad happens?!"

"You really get worked up over the smallest things, Jay. It's amazing how long you've gone without noticing _any_ of the hints Cole's been dropping."

"Excuse me?!"

"What?"

"You're telling me that I've been missing something for a whole month!? Is it that obvious?!" Jay dragged a hand across his face and groaned. "You _suck_ , Lloyd!"

"So do you, Jay," the other tossed out slyly and stopped the car. "Looks like we're here." Jay's eyes spotted Garmadon and Cole in the distance, talking under a large tree while the others were playing some sort of game on the other end of the park. It almost looked like charades? Jay stiffened when Lloyd gave Jay a friendly pat. "Go big or go home, buddy."

* * *

"Oh! Um, a librarian?" Kai yelled, jumping to his feet.

Chief leaned forward and cast a glance at Kai. "A librarian? Kai, I don't think I am following your logic here."

"It's clearly a mom yelling at her kids to do their chores. I've been there _many_ times." Ronin visibly shivered. "Poor kids."

"Ronin, no." Cyrus chuckled, relaxing his shoulders till they touched the back of his wheelchair.

Nya shook her head once more and made another effort to act out her card.

Zane, however, had been silent the entirety of the round, taking in every little aspect of Nya's moves and facial expressions. He thought he would get it by now, but either Nya was horrible at charades, or he just couldn't pinpoint it.

Just then, Garmadon's hand went up in the air in a flash, startling everyone, including Nya. "Scuba diver."

"Coooorrrect! Man, the rest of you guys stink at this," she joked and took a position between her brother and Zane. She leaned over to her friend and whispered, "Can't believe you didn't get that one, Zane. I was trying to make it easy for ya."

"Are you sure you aren't just bad at it?" Nya scoffed at Zane's joking insult and rolled her eyes.

"Mmm. Positive."

Kai sauntered up to the center 'stage', tearing the hat out of Ronin's hands. "Wow, Chief. Nice job!" Kai commented as he fished in the hat for the next word.

However, the Chief wasn't listening, as his attention was drawn only to the young man hiding behind a tree. It had been four rounds since they started and Cole was still at the same spot as before.

See, before they moved into a game of charades, Garmadon had told Cole about his decision. His decision to let Cole free. Just like Jay, Lloyd had refused to tell Cole the news, so the Chief took it to tell Cole himself. After all was said and done, Cole did not quite display the reaction that Garmadon had hoped. Then, Cole insisted that he not join charades and Garmadon began to grow heavily worried. He figured that must be the reason why Cole was sulking all by himself in the shade, a good distance from everyone else.

Garmadon broke away from the game and started towards Cole. At the tree, he placed a hand on the trunk and craned his head around to get a better view of Cole.

"We could use one more player at charades. Everyone is horrible at it," Garmadon started, trying to spark a conversation. "You _loved_ charades as a kid. Remember?"

"That was way back when." Cole grumbled, keeping his eyes on the clear, blue, sky. "What are you doing here? Didn't you guys just start a new round?"

Garmadon tilted his head left and shrugged. "What about you? Is there something on your mind, Cole?"

"Just thinking about some stuff."

The Chief's brows drew closer with concern. "If you're not ready to leave-"

"It's not. I just. It only _just_ feels like my time - my life, after being released from prison just started. Not to mention the one person who matters a lot to me…"

"No one is forcing you to leave, Cole. You are your own person. It's your choice."

"But what about Jay? And, and living myself? It just sounds so daunting." Cole ran his fingers through his hair defiantly. "And what if I don't want to make that choice? What if I _can't_ make a choice?"

Garmadon could sense a distress in his voice and he ran his hands along Cole's arms, smiling warmly at him. "I need you to hear this, Cole: You're a good person. You always have been. And I should know, because I've known you for years. And all those mistakes in the past were just the remnants of the Cole I hated to see. The Cole who was lost and confused. But that's not who you are anymore. You have friends now. Friends around the same age. You have us." Garmadon looked Cole dead in the eyes. "There's no reason to feel pressured into leaving now. If you're not ready, then that's okay. I can cancel the apartment and everything else."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"Don't worry, Cole. I just need you to tell me if you change your mind, okay?" He gave Cole's shoulder a comforting squeeze, and the other smiled in response. "Speaking of…"

Garmadon nodded his head at the car which had just pulled up. The front doors swung open and both Jay and Lloyd waved with at them with large grins on their faces. With a hearty pat on Cole's back, Garmadon flew past him to his son with arms wide open.

Cole spun around, catching Jay's eyes from across the field. He mumbled something to himself as the brunette's moved towards him. As Jay drew nearer, he noted the sky blue sweater wrapped around his body, something that was matched with a darker blue scarf which hugged his neck, just enough to get comfortable. The brown curls on his head bounced lightly when the brunette came to a halt in front of him, eyes sparkling with disbelief.

"Hey!"

"Bout time, Bluebell," Cole started, stuffing his hands in his sweater pockets, "Been waiting for a while for you to show up."

"You were?" Jay cleared his throat and tossed him a lopsided grin. "Well, you know, it ain't a party till I walk in! Right?" He playfully bumped Cole's arm, then realization hit him. Cole looked at him in question.

"Heeeeeyy, what happened to the right sleeve always being torn? I can't see that arm anymore." To Cole, Jay sounded disappointed. "It made you look tough, you know?"

"Oh, change in wardrobe." Jay frowned at him. "Not a fan?"

"I like the arm, _Cole_. It makes you look cool." Jay tucked his hands behind his back and looked around innocently. "Sooooooo since you weren't home earlier… you got anything to say to me? You usually always do. Like, every morning."

"Wow, you really want one, hmm?"

"Just come up with something! A day isn't complete without our mini banters, right?"

"Err, not today, Jay."

"Not today?" Jay's expression fell and he punched Cole's arm twice. "Meanie."

Cole chuckled softly. "You're the meanie."

Jay laughed when Cole nudged him back. "Hey, did Lloyd tell you about-"

"Chief Garmadon did, actually." Cole stated. He masked his sadness with a joyous attitude.

Jay spared a glance at his friend. "Oh. Well. Hah, that's nice."

Cole patted Jay on the back, then went to thwack his head. "You made it… Congratulations, Bluebell. I'm impressed."

"Yeah." It was brief and short and Cole started to grow worried. "Guess since you don't have to stay with us anymore… No more having someone constantly watching over you, right?"

"Yeah…" Cole's face showed concern and he turned to Jay. The way he spoke… There was this, there was something _different_ about Jay's voice this time. Cole had sensed it - a softness in his voice, something that hinted to him that Jay was not happy with the Chief's decision. "You alright?"

Jay shook his head once, then twice, trying to snap out of his many thoughts. "I'm cool. Let's uh, let's grab some root beer." _Lies_.

 _Did Jay feel the same way he did?_

Knowing that Jay probably wouldn't have wanted to talk about his problems at this time, Cole nodded and followed Jay to the table, keeping a mental reminder to ask Jay about earlier.

"Then maybe join whatever they're playing over there?" Jay cleared his throat. "Come on!"

* * *

Later that night, Jay and Cole were having dinner - just the two of them. Lloyd had gone home to spend time with his father and uncle, who he hadn't seen for a long time. The whole time, Jay could only think about one thing. And that was, when would Cole be leaving? Jay was the first one to finish his meal too, and so he pushed in his chair and started out of the kitchen, leaving Cole the last person downstairs.

After Cole finished, he had taken the liberty to fetch a slice of cake from the fridge. It wasn't normal for Jay to stay quiet, especially all throughout dinner. And Cole didn't want to think too hard about it. In fact, the brunette had been acting differently the entire day. Finishing the last of his cake, Cole turned the lights in the kitchen off and started for the stairs.

As he strode by the couch, he caught a glimpse of the porch lights, bright and blinding. Cole stopped and peered out the window at to what was going on outside.

His stomach sunk when he saw Jay sitting on the steps with his head in his hands.

Cole opened the door and stepped outside, doing so slowly, not wanting to startle Jay. "Knock, knock, Bluebell." He said gently, striding towards him.

"Oh fun, more company." Jay said with a roll of his eyes.

Cole snorted and leaned against the pole. "What's up, man?"

" _Man_?." Jay kept his eyes on the ground and grunted. "S'nothing."

"You said nothing was bothering you during the party, then you hardly said a word during dinner, and now-" Cole waved his arms as if presenting Jay.

"I'm just a little upset, that's all." Jay stared down at his feet, swaying them from side to side. "I wasn't really ready for you to leave just yet. But I guess life just hates me." He chuckled softly, never letting his eyes leave sight of his feet.

He heard Cole sigh beside him and the shuffling of feet. The other was now sitting next to Jay on the porch under the light, feet outstretched just like the brunette's were. He leaned back on his hands and cocked his head to the side.

"You didn't really expect me to just waltz out of your home the moment you stopped having to 'baby' me anymore, did you? -"

Jay's eyes widened. "Well… um, did you want me to?"

"- Because I thought you were smarter than that, Bluebell." He went on as if Jay hadn't said a thing.

Jay's faced turned a light shade of red as he played with the ends of his scarf. He ducked his head away from Cole, fighting the blush that crawled up. "Guess I just can't think straight… you know?"

Cole snickered and Jay dropped his head to the ground while he bit the inside of his cheek nervously. "When do you ever?" Cole finally said. Jay scoffed and ran a shaky hand through his curly locks. He was taken by surprise and was slightly shocked when Cole leaned closer. "Good news is, I'm not going anywhere. I talked to Chief Garmadon about it and I'm staying. Here with you."

That was when it all happened -

Cole swooped down and pecked Jay softly on the cheek.

A gentle, brush, touch of his lips on Jay's freckled covered cheek.

The brunette's face heated up undeniably quick at the unforeseen sign of affection and there were no room for excuses now. He dropped his hands almost immediately, daring to look up at Cole. Had Cole really just-? Jay shook his head but the red all over his face still would not go away.

"Wh-What was that for?" He managed to ask, a stutter for every other word.

"Is just a little something. That's all."

Jay shrunk beneath his scarf until it was covering his mouth. "A _little_? _Something_? A _kiss_?" Though his voice was muffled by the scarf, Cole could still make out his words.

"Well, yeah. Hell, it's been practically a month. Bout time I did something about it." Cole spared the brunette a smile before adding, "Besides, you look like you needed it."

Jay's eyes grew large. "A _month_? As in you've had this crush on me for a month?"

Cole nodded shyly. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"I mean, _yeah_."

" _Woah_ … 'Yeah'? What's that mean?" Cole stared at Jay, embarrassed and ashamed but awaiting an answer. The brunette still wasn't looking at him, and Cole huffed under his breath.

Jay then stole a glance at Cole, thinking long and hard about his next move. Something rang in his ears and he could tell Cole was calling out to Jay repetitively, but all the brunette could hear now was the sound of his heart thumping in his chest, the wild beating driving him crazy. _Go big or go home_ , Lloyd had said to him. He braced himself.

Without another second to lose, he leaned closer to Cole slowly but surely, bending his head a bit to reach where he needed to be and closed his eyes-

-closing the gap between him and Cole.

The kiss was sudden but it was real - a passionate taste of bliss, and Jay was sure Cole was dumbstruck by his course of action. On the other hand, Jay felt relieved. His hand grabbed Cole's bionic arm firmly and immediately as he used it to keep the two of them from falling over. However, Jay's hand loosened and trickled down Cole's arm till it fell over Cole's own hand. Out of thought, he laced his fingers with Cole's and continued to lean closer to the other.

 _He did it._

 _He really, actually did it._

But it didn't last long, seeing how the brunette pulled away gently, keeping his eyes trained on Cole's green ones.

They sat like that in silence for a good whole minute, only studying each other's eyes for the entirety of the time.

In this minute, the two saw things they never accounted for before. Jay, for one, never noticed the tint of blue in Cole's eyes before. It made them somewhat more alive, and more unique. Cole, on the other hand, noticed how faded the blue orbs were as they rounded the top, but it didn't stop there, as there was a small twinkle in his eyes, making his heart leap in his chest.

Jay couldn't help it and he broke into a grin. The widest, happiest, grin he'd felt in months.

"I love you, Cole!" Jay blurted out. "I don't know how long it's been going on, but I love you, and I, I don't want you to leave." Cole stared at him, speechless. Even if he had something to say, he wouldn't have gotten a chance to as Jay just continued to drawl on. "I never said anything because I wasn't sure. I didn't know if these feelings were real, or if they were just… _there_. But I know now. I know what my heart is telling me, and it-"

Jay had shut his mouth the minute Cole had braced him for a hug. He never got to finish, but that didn't matter anymore to him. Cole was actually happy - like, genuinely happy. The kind of happy that made Jay's heart flutter.

Then, there was a rather surprising choking sound.

" _Woah_. Woah, woah, woah!" Jay drew his arms back. "Cole, are you _crying_?"

Cole blinked suddenly. "No!" He hiccuped. "Yes. No - agh." He picked at the tears in his eyes. "It's just kind of - I'm not _sad_ , alright?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No! Jay, no!" Cole lifted an arm and wiped at the tears that had splotched his face. "I can't… I don't _deserve_ this."

"Bull." Jay stated clearly.

Cole blinked at Jay as if he was staring at someone completely new.

"Of course you deserve this, Cole."

"It's hard to believe."

"Not to me." Jay noted, drying a tear.

"You're too _good_ and I'm just…" Cole inhaled a shaky breath, "I'm just a screw up, you know? I had no friends growing up, I ran away, I left my parents. And, and I tried to fight back but got this instead," Cole motioned to his arm, "I lived on the run for a year and then I put the lives of Lloyd, Garmadon, and _you_ in danger… Oh god, my life is a _mess_."

"So _what_? That was in the past. You need to move on, Cole. You're _free_ now. No more holding back from anything or any _one_."

Jay shot his friend a genuine smile, putting his hand over his and running his thumb along Cole's fingers. He gently squeezed the other's hand when Cole returned the smile.

"You deserve everything, Cole."

With that, it was Jay's turn to pull Cole in for firm embrace.


End file.
